Moony and Ashes
by Tari Seregon
Summary: Celina has a lot to hide. So does Remus. What happens when they meet?
1. Not an Average Witch

One

Celina Dumbledore lay on the bed in her private bedroom at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had said that it would be a great year. He had said she would fit in with everyone immediately.

But Lina wasn't so sure.

"Don't worry, Celina," he had said. "You'll make lots of friends. I mean, there's Sirius and James – they're inseparable – and Lily, and Remus, and that odd little boy, Peter Pettigrew – oh, I'm sure you'll get along perfectly with them."

"But Dad, remember?" she had said. She had pulled back her hair and pointed at her ear. "My Special-ness?"

"My goodness, Celina, no one will mind. We have people with their own Special-nesses, right here in the school. People who are dangerous, even. Your Special-ness won't cause any alarm, seeing as how it doesn't make you dangerous."

"So? People will mock me because I'm weird!" she had cried. But then, she had raised her eyebrows. "Who in the school has a Special-ness that's dangerous?"

He shook his head and said, "Never you mind. As for people mocking you . . ." The truth was, he had no response to this statement. She just stood there, her arms folded across her chest, waiting for him to respond.

"You'll be fine," was all he could think of.

Looking back on the conversation, she still wasn't sure he had been right.

For one thing, Celina's physical appearance was a little different from a normal human's. At first glance, she looked like any average teenage girl –long, straight, soft black hair, mystifying blue eyes, and hot as hell itself. But if you were to look closer, at her ears, you would notice a small point at the tip.

For another thing, Celina was, though she looked seventeen, actually four thousand, three-hundred thirteen years of age. This was because she was immortal. Her physical appearance matured much slower than her emotions, thus making her look seventeen.

And both of these factors pointed to one key thing – Celina was an elf.

She had not been born in England, but in another world of which she knew nothing. She had lived there until she was about three thousand years old. At that time, she decided to leave and go somewhere else. Where, she did not know. But somehow, she ended up on Earth, in a city now called London, in the year one thousand.

She lived through the time in an orphanage. The muggles and wizard all thought she was thirteen, seeing as she looked so. It took her two hundred fifty-three years to look a year older, so she was housed in many different homes. Each of her adoptive parents she had told about her uncanny condition, and they had been sworn to secrecy. After they died, then she would travel to another city and go to another orphanage.

Approximately one hundred years ago, Celina had been adopted by a sixty-one year old magic school teacher. After about fifty years, he suggested that she go to the school he taught at, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Though uncomfortable with the idea, she attended, and told the students she was a transfer student from another magic school, called Durmstrang, in Germany.

The next couple of years were a complete blur to her. She didn't remember anyone that she was friends with, anything that had happened, any teachers she had had. Her adoptive father, who later became Headmaster of the school, informed her that she had been hit on the head and tragically lost some of her memory. Though she begged and pleaded, he simply told her that he could do nothing to revive her memory.

Celina had not been so sure.

Once again, her father had suggested that she attend the school again, telling the same lie she had told before. She was worried about what would happen at the school. Would she be accepted? Would she find love? Would people find out her secret and mock her for the rest of her life, or even shun her because of her differences? Or perhaps when she was older, she would hear stories about the elf-girl who had attended Hogwarts.

She heard a knock on the door.

"Come in, Dad," she called. Albus Dumbledore stepped through.

"The students are here, Celina. You must go to the Entrance Hall if you don't want to be noticed as different," he said.

"Why?" Celina questioned. Dumbledore was used to this. She commented like his constantly, asking stupid and pointless questions just to vex him. Dumbledore, however, was used to such things. He had had enough tauntings and had the same thing happen with James Potter enough times to double Celina's efforts.

"I already told you this, honey. The students enter into the Entrance Hall, and from there, proceed into the Great Hall for dinner. That is when you will be Sorted. You will have to be prepared to get lots of stares – the students are not used to having a seventeen-year-old under the hat," he answered.

She corrected, "You mean a four thousand, three-hundred thirteen year old."

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course. Are you coming or not?"

"One minute," she said, reaching for her hairbrush. "If I want to pick up any friends, I'll have to at least look like I care about my appearance." She heard the _clonk_ of the wooden door behind her. She hastily brushed her hair and made sure there weren't any bumps.

Reluctantly, Celina looked into the mirror and sighed. "This is as good as it's going to get, babes. Just smile and nod and hope for the best."

She went over to the door and opened it. The corridors were dark, but lit by small torches or candles on the walls. The people in the portraits moved about in their frames as usual. She walked casually over to a small portrait of a pretty girl dressed in a pink frilly dress.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Lina?" the girl asked.

"Well, not completely, Rosalie. I'm afraid they won't like me."

"Oh, cheer up. Of course they will. What's not to like?" Rosalie questioned, not expecting an answer. Lina forced a smile and continued down the corridor.

"There's a lot more not to like than you know, Rosalie," she murmured under her breath as she reached the door to the Entrance hall.

With a sigh, Celina pushed on it and heaved the heavy, wooden door open.


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts

Two

The first thing Celina saw when she entered the hall was wave upon wave of students – the superior-looking seventh years, the Prefects, sporting shining badges, the tiny little first years, scared and alarmed.

"The little ones look like me," she thought aloud. The Hall was filled with people laughing and joking, talking about their summers.

"Did you watch the Quidditch World Cup? It was absolutely amazing –"

"I bet I'm going to fail Transfiguration this year – that teacher is pretty strict; I bet she hates me –"

"Oh my gosh, I missed you so much! Did you get my postcard from France?"

Celina felt so out of place. No one was talking to her. She was just part of the crowd, being jostled around like she was in a giant pin-ball machine. Everyone had _someone_ to talk to. Everyone but her.

"Don't worry, Celina. You'll make lots of friends," he had said.

But Celina wasn't so sure.

She found the first years, like Dumbledore had instructed, and followed along with them. She was silent while waiting in the chamber before entering the Hall. She talked to no one. But unfortunately for her, everyone else was curious as to what a seventeen year old was doing with the fist years.

"Who are you?" an obnoxious boy inquired.

"My name's Celina. I was transferred from Durmstrang," she recited. She had practiced it in front of the mirror too many times to count, but now, it seemed a lot harder to say.

"Oh! Are you going to be Sorted with us?" another girl asked.

"Yeah," she answered timidly.

"Are you going to be in our year?" a boy queried with huge front teeth.

"No, I learned magic at my other school." Celina didn't want to lie. It made her stomach tie into knots. What if one day, these people grew up and said to their children, "I went to school with this stupid girl who was an elf! She had no friends at all . . . I actually talked to her on my first night there."

Fortunately for her, however, within a second or two, the doors swung open, allowing them to enter the Great Hall.

Every eye was on her. Like her Dad had said, the people weren't used to seeing a seventeen year old amongst the first years. Luckily, it was the only time she would be seen that way.

When she reached the front, the witch she recognized as Professor McGonagall stepped up, carrying a large three-legged stool on which was a patched and frayed wizards hat. Professor McGonagall was a fairly young witch. Her hair was up in a tight bun and she wore square spectacles over her misted eyes. Celina smiled. She knew that her Dad fancied her. He had a broad smile on his face looking at her.

Dumbledore stood and faced the crowd. "Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts! Let us begin with the Sorting Ceremony!" He turned to Professor McGonagall, who smiled and said, "Thank you, Headmaster. Now, when I call your name, you will come forward. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and it will Sort you into your house."

McGonagall went through many names. First Elizabeth Aarons, then Brittany Collins, then . . . she lost track of all their names. She felt sweat pouring down her face. Many of the seventh year guys were eyeing her. She was used to this – she drew attention wherever she went because of her looks. But a couple of them, the ones dressed in green and silver, the ones she recognized as Slytherins, had a look of scorn upon their faces. It was kind of a smirk. She caught one boy's eye. He had greasy black hair, a large nose, and steely grey eyes. He grinned at her. She shot him back a look, and he stopped staring.

After a few minutes, she heard Professor McGonagall take a breath, as if she was about to read a name, but then she stopped and called into the crowd, "This year, we will have the pleasure of housing a new student, transferred from Durmstrang School in Germany. She is . . . seventeen years old" – she looked to Dumbledore for conformation of this fact; the whole staff knew about her Special-ness, and were sworn to keep the secret – "and is glad to be here at Hogwarts. Would Celina . . . Peterson . . . please come forward!"

Celina made her way through the crowd. Everyone was looking at her. All the first-years, all the way up through the seventh years. She prayed she would trip. She remembered the way McGonagall had said her name. They all knew she was Dumbledore's adoptive daughter, but McGonagall did not approve of the way that she hid her true identity from everyone.

Just as she was about to reach the Hat, she saw a boy who looked about seventeen and was wearing scarlet and gold. He smiled at her sexily. She blushed and smiled back. Then she continued to move forward.

Celina approached the Hat. She smiled at McGonagall, who stonily returned the gesture. She realized that she wasn't supposed to favor anyone, so she quickly stopped smiling and sat beneath the folds of the hat.

"Ah, Celina Dumbledore. The Headmaster has told me all about you, he has," the Hat whispered in her ear.

"Don't call me that," she hissed.

"Oh, I see. You don't want everyone to make fun of you, eh?" the Hat said knowingly.

"How did you know that?" Celina asked.

"Ah, I know everything. It's all in your mind, and that is exactly what I can see. For example, your afraid people will find out about your . . . Special-ness, as you call it. You are sick of old Daddy being so over-protective and wish you could have a little fun. And you thought that boy you saw when walking up here was extremely handsome."

Celina stopped breathing. "Not so loud!" she shushed. She tried to clear her mind and stop thinking. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work.

"Still thinking, dear . . ." the Hat murmured. "Now, where to put you? Let's see . . . you are secretive and cunning and sometimes a bit fresh, but not quite enough to be a Slytherin. Your studies are important to you, but they're not your main focus, so you are not a Ravenclaw. You are certainly just and a loyal friend, but that heroism and courage . . . after all, if you were not courageous, you would not be here, would you? You have a lot to hide, Celina Dumbledore, but there's nothing the Sorting Hat can't see."

Celina was about to rip the Hat off her head when it suddenly shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The table decked out in gold and scarlet stood and clapped for her. Mostly the boys were cheering, but the girls were applauding as well. She went and walked over to the table. It was then that she saw the boy, waving at her and motioning for her to sit with him. She grinned and headed over to where he made room between another guy the same age. She sat down.

"Hey. I'm Remus Lupin, and this is James Potter," he said motioning to the guy next to him. "That's Sirius, and that's Lily – she's awesome – and the guy on the left is Peter Pettigrew." Sirius, diagonal to the right, was waving at her, accompanied by Lily and Peter who were to his left. "What did McGonagall say your name was?" he asked.

"I'm Celina, uh, Peterson, Lina for short. I transferred from Durmstrang," she said. It was hard to lie to him. He was so hot, it made her want to just want to tell him everything. But then he might be too freaked out and not like her at all.

Sirius shivered. "Durmstrang . . . what was it like, anyways?"

Celina opened and closed her mouth. Seeing as she'd never been to Durmstrang, she had no idea. She had to improvise.

"Well, it's . . . er, it's far, far away," she said quickly. They whole lot laughed, especially Remus and James.

"We know that," said Lily. Lina smiled weakly. This whole secret made her uneasy. But it was the only way she could possibly fit in.

In that moment, the plates before them filed with food. She recalled this having happened before, but tried to act surprised.

"Wow, this is amazing!" she cried.

"I know; the food's delicious, too," Remus said. "Dig in."

The whole meal, she caught James staring at her longingly. Whenever they met eye contact, she smiled and he smiled back, but then returned his gaze to his plate. She liked James so far and he seemed like a nice guy, but, for some reason, she seemed to like Remus better.

After the meal and a whole lot of getting to know James, Remus, Sirius, Lily, and Peter, they headed back to bed. She had gathered over the meal the status of the group – James and Sirius were best friends. She had known that already, because Dumbledore had said they were inseparable, but this was an extreme. Remus was next in the rankings as to who was cool and who wasn't. Lily seemed to like Sirius, and then she realized that they were going out. She had dropped her napkin and went under the table to get it, and saw them holding hands. She had stifled a laugh, unsuccessfully, and James had gone under the table to see if she was choking. Peter, however, seemed to kind of be an outcast – he always laughed uneasily, as if he wasn't sure if it was cool to laugh, and always agreed with everything James or Sirius said. She felt kind of bad for the guy, but at the same time, didn't trust him.

In the middle of her thinking, Remus grabbed her hand and said, "Come on, I'll show you to the Common Room." He dragged her behind him, but she was too excited that he was actually holding her hand to notice.

He reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Obviously, Lina already knew everything about the castle and was tempted to say the password (_flobberworm_), but if she did, Remus would get suspicious. He explained about the password, and she waited patiently until he said it to step into the room.

"Your dormitory is upstairs to the right, I believe," Remus said. Lina looked around in awe. The room was brightly lit, and a cheerful fire crackled in the fireplace.

"Thanks, Remus. I'm beat, though. I'm going to head upstairs and go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, alright?" she said.

"Alright. G'night," Remus said quietly. She felt his eyes on her back as she ascended the staircase upstairs to the dormitory. However, in a moment, she heard voices talking. She stopped to try and listen.

"There you are, Remus," Sirius' voice said. "We've been looking for you, mate."

"What do you want?" Remus asked nonchalantly.

Lily began, "We've been noticing some things, and we'd like to confirm our observations."

"Things?" Remus said tentatively.

"Things," James concluded. "Are you . . . are you sweet on Celina or something?"

For a second, she heard nothing, but then a quiet, "Perhaps . . ."

"I _told_ you guys!" Sirius shouted. Remus shushed him.

"Don't say anything to her, alright? I want her to find out from me or on her own, _alright_?" he said.

"We won't mate," James said. "You can count on us."

She smiled to herself. So he did like her. That's pretty cool. But suddenly, her perfect world came crashing down when she saw Lily appear at the bottom of the staircase, staring back up at her.

"Did you hear that?" she hissed.

Lina smiled sheepishly and said, "Perhaps . . ."

Lily smiled again. "You are pretty lucky, girly. Remus is a great guy. He'll treat you right."

"You know something, Lily?" Lina said. "I think you're right."

Celina was half awake. She felt a gentle breeze blowing over her, and heard a quiet creaking of the floorboards. She sighed, her eyes closed, and listened to the world around her. It was a quiet world, a peaceful world.

But silent as the night, she felt soft flesh pressing against her lips. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she liked it. In her mind, she felt Remus' arms encircling her waist, lifting her up bridal style and spinning her around. The kiss was entrancing, intoxicating. She opened her eyes slightly, but only to find that she _was_ being held bridal style, and she _was_ being kissed, but by and invisible man.

She yanked away from whoever it was and was about to scream when she felt a hand covering her mouth.

"Shh! Shh! Lina, it's me! Calm down!" a voice said in barely more than a whisper. There was a gust of wind, then it was revealed that the person who had been kissing her was . . .

"James? What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I wanted to pay you a visit," he said simply, putting her down on the bed and crouching next to her so that their eyes were level.

"Well, what is it you want?" she asked. She shifted in her seat. She felt uncomfortable. Did he realize the horrible position he had put her in?

James smirked and replied, "Other than you, or do you count in this?" Lina's mouth dropped open. She tried to speak, but no words came out. How could he expect her to answer, when Remus had just admitted to liking her?

"All I want is an answer. Simple yes or no will do just fine," James said.

Lina opened her mouth again, but James simply leaned into her and planted another searing kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and suddenly, she felt warm. She was amazed and the beauty and grace of it. But suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she pulled away.

"James I can't do this," she said quickly, the words all crammed together like they formed one long word.

"Why not, Lina? What's wrong with me?" James asked, a look of anxiety in his eyes.

"Well, nothing, it's just, I overheard Remus admitting that he likes me, and, well, how would you feel if you admitted you liked me and then Remus came and kissed me?" she said, trying to express her feelings.

"But I am admitting that I like you now. It's just that there's no one here but you and me," he said desperately. "What is it? Yes or no?"

Lina shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. Sure, she dreamt of guys fighting over her, but not tearing a friendship apart. James just kept staring at her, waiting for an answer, but none came. He took her hand.

"The kiss changed nothing, huh?" he said quietly, not changing his gaze.

"It's not that the kiss didn't change anything, because it did. I have to say, James, you're a pretty good kisser. It's just that the whole Remus thing . . . I feel guilty," Lina answered truthfully.

He patted her hand gently. "How about this, then – I take you on a midnight walk, and then you can get to know Remus better. And then you can choose who you like better. And I promise, this will change nothing in Remus' and my relationship. I just want to get to know you," James said.

Lina sighed. She wasn't comfortable with the idea, but she wanted to at least be able to have James as a friend. If dating one guy meant loosing the other as a friend, then she just wouldn't do it. But for now this was good enough.

"How about tomorrow at midnight?" James asked.

Lina sighed and said, "Sure."

A huge smile broke on his face. "I promise, Lina, you won't regret this. I promise."

He drew her into another mind-blowing kiss, then left her to sit there, entranced. "Magic charm," she whispered to herself. Then she laid her head upon the pillow and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep.


	3. A Walk in the Dark

Three

Celina had a bit of trouble getting to sleep that night. That kiss had been magical. She was up for hours thinking about it. So this is love, she thought to herself. Or was it? She didn't want to say she loved James. What he had done was kind of mean, seeing as Remus had just admitted that he liked her. And Remus seemed like such a nice guy. How could James do something like that to one of his best friends? It was a huge lie, and that ruins friendships. Perhaps guys didn't understand the concept that lying is bad and can do things like tat to a person. But at the same time, his kiss was so enchanting . . .

_You've got to stop this,_ Celina, she told herself. _Just because this guy's a good kisser doesn't mean he's a good guy._ Even though he seemed to be a good guy.

That night, she went to bed about three in the morning. She had never gotten to sleep that late before. It seemed like twenty seconds had gone by when she felt someone shaking her awake.

"Lina! Lina! Breakfast in ten minutes," said the blurry outline of Lily over her.

"W-what?" she muttered.

"Get dressed and stuff! Breakfast is in ten minutes! Sirius and the guys and I will be waiting for you there," Lily explained quickly. Then she turned and ran out the door of the dormitory.

"Oh, great. Now I have to face James _and_ Remus," Lina whispered. She got up and got dressed, but some light makeup on, then ran down to the Great Hall. Just as Lily had said, she, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were waiting for her. They had saved a place between James and Remus. Such a coincidence.

The whole meal, James was sulking. But when he looked at her, his lips hinted a smile. And Remus was talking to her a lot, and staring at her whenever he wasn't talking. But he seemed and looked a bit sick. In the middle of his French Toast, he started choking.

"Remus, are you alright?" she asked after he recovered from the incident.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I might be sick though."

Immediately, Lina put a hand to his forehead. "You're not warm," she pondered.

Sirius gave Remus a stern look, then asked, "Full moon tonight, huh?" Remus nodded curtly.

"What do you mean by that?" Lina asked. Sirius and Lily exchanged looks.

"Well, you ever heard of how sometimes on full moons, people act funny? That's what he meant," James said quickly. Everyone else nodded in agreement, like he was telling the truth.

But Lina wasn't so sure.

Her first class was Transfiguration. The class went pretty normally. They were learning how to transform large rocks into pillows. Lina succeeded greatly, much to Professor McGonagall's pleasure, and was awarded ten house points for a perfect spell.

"Jesus, maybe I should transfer to Durmstrang," Remus said jokingly. Lina laughed.

After that, the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. She fell asleep in History of Magic, but was rudely awakened by Lily, who had kicked her in the shins when Professor Binns asked her a question.

"Miss Peterson, what did I just say?" Binns demanded.

"Uh, erm, you were just explaining about the relationship between King Arthur and Merlin," Celina said, making it up as she went along. Binns clucked disapprovingly.

"Miss Peterson, just because of your special circumstances, do not expect that you can get away with sleeping in class," he said. Lina gave him a look. He smirked at her. Finally, a teacher had something against her. He turned on his heel and walked away.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Slytherin boy who had glared at her last night. He was smirking.

Remus leaned over from his desk and asked, "What was that all about?"

Lina had to think fast. "He means that I used to be in Durmstrang and I'm not quite used to Hogwarts yet," she said quickly.

"Oh," Remus said.

But Lina sensed that he wasn't so sure.

Next was Divination. She had been looking forward to this. She had always heard of the sight of fortune-tellers, but she had never met one.

The Professor was named Professor Trelawney, and looked a lot like a large, glittering beetle. She was kind of scary. She would float along, stopping from table to table, looking at each person's palm, and predicting what would happen to them.

"Ah," she said, coming over to Remus. His gaze focused on her. He had told her that he feared Professor Trelawney. When she had asked why, he had dismissed the question.

"Now, let's see here . . . oh, Mister Lupin, quite a short lifeline! And I also see you have feelings for someone, eh? Well, don't worry about that, dear, you have more important things to worry about. And you also have a dark secret to keep . . . a very dark secret . . . and unfortunately, somehow the secret will come apparent to one you do not want to know about it . . . and, goodness, my dear, it shall turn against you in a horrible way. I am terribly sorry, Mister Lupin."

Professor Trelawney glided away from him and moved on to her next victim, leaving Remus wide-eyed and fearful, looking at his palm in awe. He looked to Sirius and mouthed something Lina couldn't make out, then they looked to her. She gulped. What was going on that she didn't get?"

"Miss Peterson," Professor Trelawney crooned. "Let's see what we have here . . . my goodness, dear, I have never seen such a long lifeline . . . now, you, too have a secret. But this is secret is completely different from that of Lupin's. Oh, people will discover your secret, dearie, but they won't mind. At first. Then more people will discover your secret, and they will not be so comforted by this. I would advise you not to tell anyone, dear, and do not let anyone touch your hair."

Lina almost slapped her. Remus and James both gave her sideways looks at that last comment as Trelawney drifted away from her table. Celina nervously flattened her hair over her ears.

After classes were over, she went to the Common Room to do homework. She anticipated the coming of her walk with James. She somehow felt uncomfortable, like she knew she wasn't supposed to be near him. It was like some outside fore was telling her that this wasn't right, and even if she started to go out with him, it wouldn't last. She thought back to what the divination teacher had said. _"Do not let anyone touch your hair."_ What if James tried to kiss her again, and pulled her hair back behind her ears? What if he saw the pointy ear, told everyone, and she was mocked and never got her chance with either Remus _or_ James?

Yet another question plagued her. What if Remus caught them? Would James' actions destroy their friendship? Would he stop liking her because he thought she was a player? Or would it change nothing? Her heart pounded in her chest the later the hours grew.

It was around nine when James, Sirius, Lily, and Peter came back into the Common Room. Remus wasn't among them.

"Where's Remus?" she asked, concerned. She saw James' face fall a bit at this last comment.

"He doesn't feel too well," Sirius said quickly.

"Is he alright? What's wrong?" she questioned. She heard more worry in her voice than she wanted.

"He's just sick, alright? Haven't you ever been sick before?" James snapped. Lily shot him a disapproving look. Lina drew back cautiously.

"Yeah. Of course. Sorry I asked," she said to a disgruntled James. She never took his eyes off him. He seemed annoyed by this. She stopped pressing the matter and buried her nose in her homework.

"We're headed off to bed. Shall I wait for you?" Lily asked.

"No, that's alright. I've got a lot of work to do," Lina replied, not lifting her gaze.

"Alright. See you tomorrow, then," Sirius said, yawning. He gave Lily a quick kiss on the lips and then headed to the dormitory, followed by James. Lily stayed a little while.

"Don't be too worried about Remus. He's fine," was all she said before heading upstairs.

"I'm not too worried about him," she whispered. "Am I?"

Suddenly, she noticed and extra piece of paper on the table which she was working. She picked it up and unfolded it.

**I'll see you tonight.**

**James**

Lina sighed and returned to her homework. She found it hard to concentrate.

Celina had headed up to bed around eleven, having finished all of her work. She didn't actually go to bed, though. She dressed herself for her walk. She picked out a white cami with a blue sheer top that went over it with puffy sleeves, a pair of flair jeans, and a pair of strappy blue high-heeled sandals. She left her hair down, but made it slightly curly. (She hated how she could never do any up-dos. She wished she could just make the pointy ears disappear.) Then, she put on some black mascara, light blue eye shadow, and a hint of blush. She put on some vanilla-smelling lip gloss, preparing for a tasty kiss. She laughed at her girlish obsession.

She thought back to what Lily had said, about Sirius.

"Yeah, I'm dating Sirius," she had said. "But it doesn't feel quite right."

"Why?" Lina had asked.

"Well, because. Have you ever had that feeling that you think you love someone, but you aren't sure if you love someone else?"

Lina knew the feeling. It was gnawing at her right now.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," she had said.

"That ought to explain enough," Lily had said. "G'night."

That conversation had weirded her out a bit. Why was she going out with Sirius if she loved someone else? And who was the someone else?

Finally, the clock in the dormitory struck twelve. As if on cue, the door opened, and she knew James was there, under the invisibility cloak.

That second, he ripped it off and stood to full height. He was wearing khakis, with a bluish sweater with a gray stripe across. His hair was untidy and sticking up all over the place, but his green eyes behind his glasses sparkled mischievously.

"Ready?" he asked. He looked her up and down. "You look great," he said.

"Thanks. I try."

He held out his hand to her. She took it, and he threw the cloak over the both of them. He cautiously opened the door and they snuck out of the dormitory and into the main part of the castle.

It wasn't long before she noticed a piece of parchment in his hand. It was blank.

"What's that?" Lina whispered.

"You shall see," James replied. He tapped the piece of paper and said, _"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_._"_ Instantly, a map appeared on the paper. Small dots with names next to them indicated the position of each person in the school.

"It's called the Marauder's Map." James grinned widely in Lina's amazement. He pointed with his wand to a dot labeled _James Potter_.

"That's me," he said. "And there's you."

He indicated to the dot next to him. Lina's eyes widened in alarm. The dot was labeled _Celina Dumbledore_.

"It's amazing," she said, trying to distract him from the map. "Come on, let's keep going. Where did you get it?"

"I made it, along with Remus, Sirius, and Peter. We are, together, known as the Marauders. It shows every room in the castle, and every way out. Even the ones no one knows about," James explained. He pointed to a small statue that they were approaching on the map.

"This one leads to Hogsmeade, through Honeyduke's Sweetshop. Hogsmeade is an all-wizard village. We're allowed to visit it every so often, but it's the perfect place for a midnight walk."

It wasn't long before they reached a statue of a one-eyed witch. James took out his wand, tapped it, and whispered, _"Dissendium!" _The hump on the back of the witch opened, revealing a portal for them to crawl through.

"Ladies first," James said, gesturing towards the hump. Lina uneasily slid herself into the passageway.

"James, are you sure this is safe?" she asked quietly.

"Of course. I've done it multiple times before with other girls."

Lina's eyes widened. "Other girls?"

James stopped smiling, realizing he'd said the wrong thing. "Go ahead," he said briefly.

Lina slid down the hole and entered a passageway. It wound around in the dark and seemed to go on forever. She pulled out her wand and whispered, _"Lumos."_ A small light appeared at the end of the wand. She began crawling into the dark space, not knowing where she was going.

"Jesus Christ, James, are we there yet?" she asked about an hour later.

"Almost. Lift up your head, but gently. Don't bump it," he ordered. Lina lifted her head, and felt a trap door above her. She pushed on it and entered the basement of Honeyduke's.

She and James went up the trapdoor and headed up the stairs to the main floor of the shop. She had been in here before – her Dad had taken her once on her birthday, when she had turned four thousand, three-hundred years old. But she had to act surprised. James couldn't know that.

The rows were filled with sweets – gums, lollipops, tarts, chocolate, everything she could ever imagine. It made her mouth water.

"You want something?" James asked.

"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do. The shop's closed," she said. James smiled roguishly.

"Oh, James, you're not going to steal it, are you?"

"Of course not. I'll just leave money on the counter. I've done it before. Don't worry," he said sneakily.

"What, for the other girls?" Lina asked edgily. James' face went red. They walked out without buying anything.

He took her to a clearing, where there was a small fountain shooting water from the mouth of Cupid and a stone bench just the size to fit two of them. He gestured for her to sit.

"Am I romantic enough for you?" he asked quietly. His face was right next to hers.

"It's not about how romantic you are, James," Lina said. "You could be the most romantic guy in the world, but if you're a jerk who would take a girl over one of his best friends, then I can't go out with you."

James looked at the ground. "It's not that I would take a girl over one of my best friends. I mean, Remus is one of the greatest guys I've ever met. It's just that . . . you're, like, my perfect girl. You're beautiful and mysterious and sweet and everything I need in someone. And yes, though there were other girls, none of them were like you. I mean, I liked them, but they were just . . . different."

Lina smiled. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. But at the same time, it didn't feel right.

"Come on, let's go for a walk," she said. She stood and took his hand. And he showed her around Hogsmeade.

"That's Zonko's Joke Shop. You can imagine that that's Sirius' and my favorite store –"

"There's the Quidditch Store – I go there all the time, especially to look at the brooms –"

"Oh, and the Three Broomsticks has the best Butterbeer you've ever tasted – actually, it's the only Butterbeer you've ever tasted, but oh well –"

She and James had a pleasurable walk around Hogsmeade. They talked about their lives before they came here. Naturally, Lina had a lot more to talk about that James, but she tried to hide it and get to know him better. He seemed like a great guy, but with one flaw – he was a bit self-centered. He talked about himself a lot, and seemed to be obsessed with Quidditch. It kind of bugged her, but at the same time, she had to listen. She had to know whether she liked him or not.

By the end of the night, she had had a great time, but hadn't said much. He took her back to the clearing around four-thirty in the morning, when the sun was just peaking over the horizon.

"Well, this was great. I really had a good time," Lina said.

James smiled sheepishly and asked, "Can I kiss you goodnight?"

Celina bit her lower lip. "Sure," Lina answered, leaning in loser to him. Her heart pounded in her chest. She brushed her lips against his in a gentle kiss. And it was good.

Until she heard, "James? Lina? Oh, my head."

Celina pulled away from an awestruck James and snapped her head around. Staring back at them, with James' arms around her waist, was Remus.


	4. Confessions

Four

Remus stared, awestruck, as James dropped his grip around her. Lina looked quickly to the ground. Remus' mouth was hanging open in pure shock and utter disappointment.

"Remus, my friend, it's not what you think," James cried.

"What else could it be, James? You heard my confession. How could you?" Remus exclaimed, massaging his head.

"Come on, Remus. Everyone deserves a chance at love," James tried.

"Yeah, and so do I!" Remus retorted. "Besides, you're not supposed to be out here!"

"Well, Remus, you're out here. What are you doing anyways?" Lina asked cautiously. Remus shot her a look, telling her that that was not an appropriate question to ask.

"I think I should leave you guys alone for a minute," Lina said. And with that, she turned and walked into the woods, hiding behind a tree to listen to the conversation. Remus reached out to stop her, but her mind was made up. She also figured that they would say a lot more if they thought she wasn't listening.

"Remus, I am so sorry you had to see that," James whispered.

"As well you should be. James, you know that whenever I like someone I'm serious about it! I never have those stupid crushes like you did! You were just so lucky – no girl can keep their hands off of you. Look at Celina! She was kissing you like you were married!"

"Come on, Remus. Trust me on this, she doesn't like me. She barely said a word to me the whole night. And when she did speak, she said that she felt bad, like she was betraying you," he said. "If she liked me, she wouldn't care about your feelings so much." However, James added quickly, "Besides, that kiss didn't feel as real as it looked."

"Just goes to show how much you know her. I know her enough to know that she would care about everyone, no matter whether or not she liked them. She's a kind person, James. She wouldn't be like that," Remus said, shaking his head.

James walked around Remus and sat back on the bench. "You don't get it. The way she talked about you was like she was mad about you. I feel like shit right now, because I know she doesn't like me."

"Oh, don't be stupid, James, of course she does. Nearly every girl in the school is crushing on you. Nobody likes plain, boring Remus, which the only interesting thing about him is something he can't tell anyone," he snapped.

"Oh, but Remus, you don't know the half of it. I know, like, five girls who have confided to me that they like you. So they didn't include Celina. But Jesus, mate, she's been here a grand total of one whole day. She doesn't know you well enough yet. And even so, just because she hasn't come out with it doesn't mean she doesn't like you. She probably didn't want to hurt my feelings.

"And you should know that I'm not low enough to pick a girl over one of my best friends. I've known you since my second year, Remus, and I've only known her for barely twenty-four hours. I promise, I won't let her get in the way of anything."

"How can you be so sure?" Remus asked uneasily. James paused, thinking of what to say.

"Because that kiss made me realize something," he said quietly.

"What?" Remus queried, his interest peaking.

James lifted his head and looked Remus straight in the eye. "I need Lily back."

Lina's heart stopped. What was he talking about? Lily was with Sirius.

But then her mind snapped back to the conversation earlier in the night.

"_Yeah, I'm dating Sirius. But I'm not sure if it's quite right."_

Lina smiled to herself. She liked being all-knowing.

"Then do it, James! Just go up to her and tell her how you feel!"

"But what about Sirius? I can't break his heart for Lily. It's not worth losing my best friend to like a girl and tell her, but not knowing if she liked me back. Then I may end up friendless and loveless," James said, sighing.

"Come on, mate! Now's my turn. I know that Sirius isn't really happy with this relationship. He told me. He said she's just not the one for him. And he didn't want to tell you because he was afraid you would get mad at him and defend Lily!"

A huge smile broke on James' face. "You mean it?"

"Yeah. Now, you get back there and tell Lily how you feel," Remus said.

"And Lina's all yours," James replied. They smiled at each other and drew each other into a huge hug. Lina thought this would be the perfect moment to walk in.

"You guys done yet?" she asked innocently. They ripped away from each other. Remus ran his hands through his hair. James put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah. Um, you ready to go?" he asked.

"Actually, James, I wanted to talk to Lina first, before we go," Remus said. Turning to her, he added, "May I have a word?"

"Yeah, sure."

James turned and went to Honeyduke's, where he would wait for them. Remus took her to the bench and sat her down. She looked up at him and smiled. He sat next to her.

"So . . . I just wanted to ask you something," he said.

"I heard you yesterday," Lina blurted out. "And I thought what you said was really sweet."

"You heard me?" Remus inquired, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah."

"Well, then, I suppose that I don't really have to say anything," he said.

Lina pursued, "Well, you don't _have_ to, because I know what you'll say, but it's still nice to hear it every once and a while."

Remus beamed. "In that case, I will," he said. He sighed and dreamily stated, "The moment I saw you, when you were walking up to the Sorting Hat, I thought you were beautiful. And when you were Sorted into Gryffindor, I was the happiest guy alive. And remember in Divination, when Professor Trelawney said" – he screwed up his face and did an impression of the glittering bug – "_Oh, I see you have feelings for someone, but don't worry about that, dear_, I thought she meant that you didn't like me. I was heartbroken. I tried as hard as I could to get you to like me. But I guess maybe that's not what she meant."

"No, it wasn't. Because I thought the same thing, when I saw you the first time." Lina saw a smile curl on to Remus' lips.

"I guess that all I'm trying to say is . . . I love you, Celina," he whispered.

She said nothing. There was nothing more to say. She hoped that the look on her face would explain it all.

"I really want to kiss you," Remus said in barely more than a whisper. His hand caressed her face. Her eyes closed.

"You may," she replied. She felt him drawing closer. But right when he was about to do it, she remembered something.

"Just don't touch the hair."

Remus smiled. His forehead was against hers, their noses almost touching. His arms locked around her waist, her arms around his neck. He stroked her face. But then he tilted his head and sank his lips into hers. His hands pressed on her back, drawing her closer, deepening the kiss. It was different from James' kiss – it was truer, more real. And it meant something more than James' had. Much more.

When they withdrew from each other, Lina blushed. Remus was looking at her like a miracle had just occurred. For them both, it had – Lina had found someone who truly loved her and accepted her, and Remus had finally found someone who wasn't obsessed with James.

Lina looked at the ground, still smiling. He reached up and kissed her head.

"Come on. Let's go meet James."


	5. John

Five

Lina followed Remus and James through the dark passageway back to the castle. She thought about the events of the last couple of hours, and realized that it was hard to be luckier than she was.

She had been caught in between two suitors – one, James Potter, was one of the most popular guys in school, and the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. The other, Remus Lupin, was a kind, sweet, handsome guy with a good head on his shoulders. He never got the girl, because she was always attracted to James. And he was gracious enough to be able to talk to James calmly and rationally when he found him kissing the girl he had admitted to liking.

And then James had come, and kissed her multiple times. And though he was quite good at it, something hadn't felt right. She felt horrible, having two great friends fighting over her.

But then, at their last kiss, James had realized that he loved Lily, the girl his other best friend admitted to no longer liking.

"You see, Lina, last year, before you came, Lily and James had been going out," Remus had explained earlier in a hushed tone. "But then they sort of broke up, but were still friends. James seemed a little heartbroken by the whole affair, but was determined not to show that to Lily. However, when Lily started seeing Sirius, James was furious and didn't speak to Sirius for a whole week. For them, that is like an eternity – they're the best of friends. But then they resolved the conflict. James realized that he wanted what Lily wanted, as long as she was happy. And what Lily wanted was Sirius. Or so she thought. So ever since then, he has been in denial of whether or not he still loved Lily. Now, after he just kissed you, he realized that he missed Lily and he could truly love no one else."

"No offense, of course," James had butted in. Apparently he had been eavesdropping the whole time.

"None taken. I can't be a dream come true for everyone," Lina had said jokingly. She still remembered the look on Remus' face when she had said that.

"You are for me. And I hope that's enough for you," Remus had said, turning to face her. He had stroked her face gently, her eyes closed. She remembered hearing James crawl away, saying, "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

She still remembered his kiss. His lips, full and warm, caressing hers so gently. She wanted nothing more than another one of those kisses. However, now would not have been the time, seeing as James had found the exit of the passage.

"Here it is, guys," he said in barely more than a whisper. He took out his wand and muttered, _"Dissendium!"_ The hump on the back of the witch re-opened. James threw the invisibility cloak over the three of them and together, the climbed up through the hump of the one-eyed witch.

About half an hour later, the three of them had made their way to the Common Room. Remus went up to the portrait of the Fat Lady and murmured the password, at which the Fat Lady scoffed at them for waking her at such an hour (it was around six o'clock), and they entered the Common Room. James was about to take off the invisibility cloak when he saw something which made his heart stop.

"It's Lily!" he cried. "What do I do?"

"Go talk to her, mate. She's waiting for you, wishing you were there."

Just then, something odd happened. Celina had been focusing on Lily, staring at her hard, when all of a sudden, she heard a voice in her head.

"_Oh, this relationship with Sirius really isn't working out. Come on, Lily. You have to talk to him. Just, be firm but kind. He'll understand. You need James back, Lily. It's not the same without him."_

Lina stopped concentrating on Lily. She gasped.

She had just read Lily's mind.

With a slight grin on her face, he turned and focused on James.

"_Come on, James. Sirius won't be mad. You heard what Remus said. Just talk to her, and then everything will be fine. And pray that Sirius doesn't kill you and Lily doesn't turn you down. No, she won't turn me down. But what if she does?"_

Lina suppressed a laugh. This was fun. What was Remus thinking?

"_I feel bad for Sirius. If this whole thing works out with Lily and James, then he'll be the only single one in the group. Well, besides Pettigrew. But he doesn't really count._

"_Hey. I'm not single anymore. I have a girlfriend. The most wonderful, amazing girlfriend the world has ever seen."_

"_Of course you do, Remus,"_ she thought to herself.

Suddenly, Remus looked at her.

"_Who said that?"_ he asked in his head. Lina gasped again. Not only could she read people's minds, but when doing so, she could talk to them.

"_Remus, it's me. It's Lina. I can talk to you by reading your mind."_

"_You can read minds? Oh, shit. My mind is never safe again. I'll have to stop thinking."_

"_I tried to stop thinking for the Sorting Hat. But it didn't work. It's no use. Your secrets are no longer safe." _In her mind, she laughed. Then, her vision snapped back to the Common Room, where a shadow was being cast over Lily.

"Lily?" a voice called quietly into the Common Room. Lina recognized the voice well.

"Oh, Sirius, there you are. I've been meaning to talk to you," Lily said.

"Yeah, me too. You see, Lil, I love you to death and I'm mad about you. I think you're an amazing person and so great to all your friends."

"As do I of you, Sirius, but –"

"But I feel like –"

"Like this relationship isn't working out."

"And we should . . ."

"Break up."

The two of them said this simultaneously, so it sounded as though they had planned this. Lina knew that in their heads, they had – but the others didn't know. And she intended to keep it that way.

"You mean it? You understand?" inquired Sirius.

"I understand completely. You understand too, right?" Lily continued.

"Yeah, of course!"

"But we're still friends, we're just not any more than that, right?" Lily said.

"Right."

There was an awkward silence, in which neither of them said anything. They both kind of looked at the ground and shuffled their feet, wondering what else there was to say.

"So . . . that's it then," Sirius said in a monotone. "I guess I'll go to the dormitories – I didn't actually put away my clothes and stuff yet."

"Alright," Lily said, and Sirius went upstairs.

Remus gasped and said, "Now's your chance, mate! Go up there and tell her how you feel!"

Remus pushed him forward. James slipped out from under the invisibility cloak. Lina thought she could hear his heart pounding. He opened and closed the door behind them, so that Lily would think he had just walked in. Then, he entered and faced her.

"Hello, Lily," he said nervously.

"Oh, um, hi James," Lily said.

"I wanted to . . . . well, I guess I wanted to do a lot of things," James began.

"Like what?" Lily pursued. Remus gave Lina a look of superiority when James continued:

"Well, er, ever since we broke up, I've been feeling a bit . . . different." He stopped. Lily looked at him, willing him to continue, but he had reached his limit for the moment.

"How so?" Lily asked, pressing him on.

"I've been noticing that I haven't been feeling the same. And then, when Celina came, I thought I was in love. And I mean, she's hot and all, and she's really nice and smart and everything, but . . ." he paused. He didn't know what to say. Celina could tell that this wasn't good. So, she decided to take things into her own hands.

She concentrated hard on James, staring at his figure, his mouth opening and closing. She squeezed her eyes shut and let all other thoughts flee from her mind as she focused on him.

She tried to make the voice James would hear sound like his own voice – she didn't want him to know about her power. Not yet, when she barely knew of it herself. She took a deep breath and thought in a low, male voice: _"But when I kissed her, it wasn't the same as yours."_

James responded well to this new thought. "But when I kissed her, it wasn't the same as yours." He stopped there. Lina sighed. Would she have to do everything?

But surprisingly, James responded with something of his own: "I miss your kiss, Lily. I miss you. And now I realize that . . . I could never love anyone else the same way."

Lina's mouth dropped open. She had no idea James went that deep. Apparently, neither did Lily.

She sat there, wringing her hands, her eyes locked in his. "Oh, James . . ." she whispered. Lina and Remus swapped a look of excitement as Lily threw her arms around James and kissed him, deeply and passionately.

"Come on, let's leave them to . . . do what they want to do," Remus said. He gestured for her to move forward, and Lina followed obediently. There was something about watching James and Lily kiss – it made her think that they would be the couple that would be together forever.

That morning, the group was all abuzz. James and Lily were excited to be back together; Sirius was happy to not be going out with Lily anymore but not have her mad at him; Remus and Lina were happy to have solved their problem and to have found people that loved them, despite their differences. Peter was the only one who wasn't exceptionally agitated.

"So what was kissing Remus like?" Lily asked excitedly.

"It was amazing. It was like . . . I heard music in my mind, and I saw fireworks flashing before my eyes. It was like I had floated all the way to heaven in his arms," Lina said, describing it the best she could.

Lily smiled and replied, "Yeah. I know the feeling. You really love him, don't you?"

Lina thought a moment. "Yeah, I'd say I do."

"But what about James? Obviously, he wasn't heartbroken when you went for Remus."

"No. I mean, when he kissed me, he seemed kind of wary, like he knew something was wrong. And I knew something was wrong. He didn't seem very into it, and neither did I. I hoped at the time that I wasn't hurting his feelings, but apparently I hadn't," she said.

Lily leaned over and whispered quietly into her ear, "He's a good kisser, though, isn't he?"

Lina giggled and cried, "Lily!" But after their laughing fit, she nodded solemnly, and they burst out again.

"Jesus, what are you guys so giggly about?" Sirius asked, staring at them intently.

"Nothing," Lina said quickly.

The first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts for Lina, Lily, Remus, and James. Sirius and Peter had Muggle Studies, which none of the rest were taking.

"See you at lunch, mate," Sirius said to James.

"Good luck with Peter," murmured Remus. James tried to contain his laughter.

After Sirius and Peter had walked away, Lina leaned into Remus and whispered, "You guys really don't like Peter, do you?"

"It's kind of complicated," he replied. "Before I was here, James and Sirius were best friends, and you'd never see them apart. That was most of the company they kept, besides James' adoring Quidditch fans. Then I came to school, and James was extremely nice to me, and he was my first friend. He introduced me to Sirius, and together, we were like the Three Musketeers – always in trouble, always attracting the girls (well, that was mostly James and Sirius, but I like to think I was a chick magnet). So Peter wasn't originally a Marauder.

"Then all of a sudden, Peter kind of started stalking James and Sirius. To him, they were the bee's knees. They were the greatest – so hip, so . . . I don't know. And so then, we thought if we let him hang with us and be with us and pretended to accept him as a member of our group, he would calm down and stop being so annoying. As you can see, that plan failed miserably, and none of us has the heart to tell him to get lost."

"Ah," Lina said. She thought for a moment. Was that the way it was with the rest of the Marauders and herself? Was she a reject, and none of them really liked her, but they all pretended to, just to get her off their backs?

"Of course not!" Remus cried suddenly. Celina jumped and turned to look at him. It was then that she had realized that in staring at him, she had sent all of her thoughts to him. She blushed. She would have to be more careful who she concentrated on.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to say it that loud," he said. His outburst had attracted many stares. Among them was the Slytherin with the greasy hair. He stared at her maliciously, but still, his stare had a sense of desire about it. It sent a shiver up her spine.

"Remus," she asked, "who is that Slytherin?"

"Which Slytherin?" he queried. Lina pointed to the one she meant. Remus scowled.

"That's Snape. Severus Snape. What an awful name, huh? It sounds like _sever his nape_. God, I wouldn't mind severing his nape."

"Why? What's so bad about him?" Lina inquired.

"He's just a loser. For one thing, he rarely bathes. And when he does, he doesn't brush or wash his hair. For another thing, he's gifted in the Dark Arts, and gives me the impression that he will one day turn against us, and turn onto the side of You-Know-Who."

Celina knew who alright. She had heard the name repeated a million times by her father. She had no idea what kind of horror this guy caused, but she knew that people feared him above anyone else in the world.

"You mean Voldemort?" she said. Remus flinched.

"Jesus, do you have to say it so loud?" he asked. "In fact, do you have to say it at all?"

"Sorry. It's just that I'm used to it, because my dad calls him Voldemort."

Remus flinched again, but then continued to say, "The only person I know who calls You-Know-Who by his other name is Dumbledore."

A knot formed in Lina's stomach.

"Right," she said quickly, turning into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

The professor stepped over to his desk and rapped on it sharply with a ruler. He was tall and handsome – his brown hair fell gently across his forehead, curling slightly in the front. He had sky blue eyes, full lips, and soft, rounded features. He gave the impression of someone who was young and carefree, but was still collected enough to be able to run a class.

"Welcome, class. For any of you who don't know" – he looked to Lina – "I am Professor Martin, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Only problem was that she did know – his name was John, and he had just been hired last year. And he knew she knew who he was. But he was smart enough to address obviously that he thought she didn't. Because John, of all people, knew how Celina didn't want to be known as Celina Dumbledore. In fact, John knew best of all the teachers.

"Well, this year promises to be one of great interest for all of you seventh-years."

Celina and John had been friends – she had been here when he was at school. She had even dated him secretly for a while. But that was six years ago. John was twenty-four now, and realized that he and Lina could never be. Besides, they had been better as being just friends.

"We will be studying many appealing topics."

John had given her the low-down on what was going on in Hogwarts – the latest gossip, the newest Quidditch players, the scores in House Points. He had explained how Hogwarts worked, and helped her keep up with her magic so that one day, when the world was ready, she could come and join the crowd of seventh-years, waiting to become adults. You could say that John had been her best friend, and had taught her everything she knew.

Remus had mentioned during breakfast one day about how excited he was for this class.

"We have this awesome professor, Professor Martin. He's so great – he actually went to school here only . . . five years ago. I was in my first year here, with the Second-Years, when he was in his seventh. He was the greatest – the only Ravenclaw that I had actually admired. He was the Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and I remember how disappointed he had been to loose the Quidditch Cup to James, when James was only a second-year. But the best thing was that even though he lost, he was still cool about it, and didn't hate him for the rest of forever."

When he had said that, Lina had knew exactly what he had meant by "great," and even more so. Because Remus didn't know what a great kisser he was.

Lina snapped back to reality and tuned in to what John/Professor Martin was saying.

"Some of these topics include red caps, hinkypunks, boggarts, centaurs, unicorns, and . . . werewolves." She noticed the small inflection John put on _werewolves_, as though he didn't want to be studying them.

Lina watched as Remus slid down slightly in his chair, his robes bunching up in the back. She saw that Snape was grinning broadly at this statement, as though he knew something no one else did. She leaned over to Remus and whispered, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, the subject makes me uncomfortable, that's all," he hissed.

Lina moved back to her seat and listened for the rest of the lesson, aware of Snape's eyes on the back of her neck. She felt as though he were watching her, as though he were stalking her. Or as though he knew something she should know, and he was going to torture her with it until she figured it out.

And then there was Remus, who after the werewolf comment, had been completely still, staring into space, obviously thinking. She really wanted to know why he was so uncomfortable about the subject. She decided to read his mind to see if it would reveal anything.

"_Just stop thinking about it. Think about Lina instead. She's beautiful, she's awesome, she . . . she can't know."_

"_Can't know what?"_ she thought to herself. But unfortunately, she wasn't used to this power yet, and had forgotten that while reading someone's mind, every thought of her own was transferred to the other person.

"_Lina? Stop reading my thoughts! A person's mind is a place where they're supposed to be alone, where no one else can see what they're saying!"_ Remus cried.

"_I'm sorry, Remus, I'm just not used to this yet,"_ Lina lied. _"I did it by accident."_

Lina was careful not to concentrate on anyone from now on unless she wanted to talk to them.

But still, she wanted to know what she couldn't know. Even with this power, she was still so deprived.

Finally, class was over, and it was time for lunch. She had been so excited to see John, and to come to this class. Funny how quickly things like that could change. She wanted to get Snape off her back, she wanted to get Remus to speak again, and she just wanted to leave. Unfortunately, fate was working against her.

"Lina, may I have a word with you in private, about your previous education?" Professor Martin asked. She thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face.

"Yes, sure," she replied. At least they would be alone, where Snape could no longer stare at her.

"I'll wait for you outside, Leen," Remus said fondly. Lina nodded as he shut the door, the last one outside.

Professor Martin pulled out his wand and muttered, _"Vocalo proofiero!"_ A line of sparks shot out of his wand and burst at the door.

"Sound proofing charm," Lina muttered, forcing a smile on her face as she looked to John. He looked happier than he ever had in his life.

"You remember that class, huh?" John asked. Of course Lina remembered that "class." That was the "class" in which John had kissed her for the first time.

"How could I forget?" Lina replied.

John conjured an armchair and motioned for her to sit. "How are you, Leen?" he queried.

"I'm alright. I feel really weird, keeping this all from everyone," she responded. Of course, John had known about Lina's Special-ness. He had been the first student to ever know. In fact, the only student to ever know, as far as she could remember. He had met her one night, when she had been walking down to her father's office. He had been sneaking back from the Quidditch pitch, after a long practice session. She had told him to meet her in her room at midnight the next night, and after many midnight meetings, she had explained everything. And besides, now that John was a teacher, he had been told by her father about her Special-ness. All the teachers knew.

"Don't worry about it," John said, looking her straight in the eye. "Everyone has a secret to keep."

"Apparently so," she murmured, thinking of Remus. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. I am glad your father gave me this job – I've wanted to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher since I was in my fifth year."

And so they talked, for about fifteen minutes or so. They reminisced of their past days and all the good times they had together, all of the news of the present days, and everything else. They chatted about spells, about the things they were going to be doing this year, and the gossip about the teachers in the school. They laughed and joked and had a great time – almost as though they were seventeen again (even though when Lina was seventeen, she couldn't talk, because her body had only matured to the baby stage).

After a particularly long laughing fit, John looked her up and down. "Jesus, Lina, you haven't changed a bit."

"Yeah, you neither," said Lina. They locked eyes. Lina felt her cheeks burning as he searched her face for any sign of emotion.

"I've missed you, Lina," he whispered, still meeting her gaze. Lina had no response. She just stared at him, wondering what else there was to say. Was it just her, or was he looking at her different than before?

"I think I've got to go," she said suddenly, standing up and picking up her bag of books. She tried not to look at him, for even though people said those words all the time, the way he said it made her think that they had more meaning than she wanted to hear.

"I'll see you later, John," she said. "I mean, Professor Martin."

He gave her a sly smile as she walked out the door, his words cutting a hole in her heart like a knife.


	6. The Halloween Ball

Six

"Wow, that took a while," Remus said as Celina closed the door behind her.

"Sorry – we had a lot to catch up on," she responded truthfully. But John's words still rang in her mind.

Remus must have sensed her unease, because he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not," she replied. "Let's get to lunch, I'm starving."

Remus smiled his amazing, thousand-watt smile and took her hand. He led her down to the Great Hall. He was unusually quiet – usually, whenever he walked with her, they were both chatting a mile a minute. But Remus was now absolutely silent.

"Remus, is something wrong? You haven't said a word to me since we left the classroom," she said warily, sitting down at the Gryffindor Table.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Nothing that should worry you," he said.

Lina smiled weakly and replied, "Anything you have a problem with is my concern as well. You can rely on me, Remus; just tell me what's wrong."

"Don't worry about it, Lina; I'm sure that if we stay together for more than a month, which I can guarantee, then you will figure it out. I promise you that much," he said shortly, dropping the subject.

Lina was still worried, but realized that it was irritating Remus that she was talking about it, so she stopped and dug in to her lunch.

The conversation was rich. It was great, having Lily and James back together – she knew somehow that they would be going much farther than just school-year romance.

After lunch, the group went up to the Gryffindor Common Room, to do homework. Lina sat diligently, doing the assignment John had given her. The others, however, seemed to be sucking on the ends of their quills quite often – too often.

"Let me see that," Lina said rudely, grabbing the quill from between Sirius' teeth. She examined it closely, but found nothing wrong with it. But then, accidentally, she brought it to her nose, and realized that it did not smell like a normal quill. Cautiously, she reached out and touched the end with her tongue. Instantly, a sweet taste erupted on her taste buds.

"Ah-ha!" she cried. "Sugar quills. Oh, Sirius, you didn't think you could get past me, did you?"

Sirius grinned sheepishly and said, "I hoped I'd be able to."

Lina conjured a bag, labeled with Sirius' name, and threw the quill in.

"You can get it back when your work is done. They're distracting, I know – I once almost failed a test because I was sucking on one the whole time."

Lina watched as Remus slowly removed one of the quills from his mouth as well, trying to hide the fact that he had one. But Lina was too fast. She conjured up a bag for him as well, and stuck it in.

"But, Leen, I'm on a sugar-low. I need sugar!" he exclaimed.

"Well, that she can give to you," James hinted. Lina didn't need an excuse. She leaned over and planted a serious kiss on his lips. James and Sirius whooped, Lily aw-ed, and Peter laughed uneasily.

Lina wrapped her arms around him and they fell on the floor, rolling around like children at play. They unlocked lips, and Remus was completely in awe, as though Lina had some sort of magic touch. Maybe she did.

The rest of the day went on, and was actually quite boring, compared to the rest of the day – finally seeing John again, realizing that Remus had a secret but was unable to figure it out, that searing kiss. In her eyes, it had been a good day.

That's how it went for a while. Slowly, September faded into October, and with Halloween approaching, there was quite a lot of excitement amongst the students. For this year, something was going to happen that had never happened before in Hogwarts History.

"So, Leen, I'm assuming you have no date to the Costume Ball," Remus said one day.

"Of course not, Remus," she scoffed. Remus gave her a look, to which she replied, "Well, I don't have a date, but I've had a couple offers."

And she had. A hot fifth-year had asked her, but she had to turn him down – he was not as hot as Remus. And then there was an adorable little third-year who had asked, but she, politely, turned him down as well. Then, she noticed a girl who was about his age staring at him. She had gone over to the third year girl, and was talking to her, and eventually encouraged her to ask out the boy, whom she had been crushing on. She had been quite proud of that little match-making incident.

"Like who?" Remus exclaimed, bringing her back to reality.

"Oh, come on, Remus, it was a fifth-year and a third-year. There was no competition. Besides, if you think I'd go with another guy, you don't know me well enough."

He sighed and said, "Sorry, Leen, I was just worried, that's all. See, I've only ever had one girlfriend, and she cheated on me and went out with some other guy."

Lina grimaced. She remembered how Remus had said that he only liked a girl when he was really serious about her. And how no girl had ever loved boring, plain old Remus, with nothing special but something he couldn't tell anyone.

There it was again. What was that secret that Remus would give his life to keep?

"Well, anyways, I was wondering if you'd go with me," he said, breaking the awkward silence that was between them.

"Of course," Lina said, kissing his cheek.

As the Halloween Ball drew closer (to be held on Halloween night), Lina noticed a change in spirits between the Marauders. James and Sirius would often wander off late into the night, coming back with handfuls of dung bombs and stink pellets, ready to put into the Caretaker's office. There was talk of dares, of people being dared to go to the Shrieking Shack, the most Haunted Building in Britain. For some odd reason, Remus seemed incredibly uncomfortable with that idea, and the rest of the Marauders didn't seem too happy about it either, even though it was the kind of thing that was right up James and Sirius' alley.

Also, she noticed, that John often began looking at her differently than before. It was sort of intimidating, but at the same time, it scared her.

And of course, there was the ever-watching eye of Snape. He was always watching her. It was really creepy. She told Remus about it, who simply responded with, "Oh, come on, Leen, he creeps everyone out. He creeps _me_ out. Don't pay any attention to him." But even so, it seemed different. He creeped Remus out in a much different way than he did with her.

Finally, the day of the ball came. Lina and Lily had been working on their costumes for weeks. Lily was going to go as Bride of Frankenstein – she had a tall wig, a long, white dress, and put little fake stakes on the sides of her head like Frankenstein. James was the original monster, and together, they were quite a site – they looked, quite frankly, scary.

Sirius was going as the Phantom of the Opera – and he had done quite a good job with his costume as well. Peter was going as Quidditch player, and everyone could guess why. Peter lived for James, and wanted more than anything to be like him. They had magically shrunk James' robes down to Peter's size, and gave him his old broom to borrow. For Peter, this was going to be the most exciting Halloween of his young life, which was a pretty sad statement.

As for Remus, he was going as Dracula. He looked wicked sexy – he had slicked his hair back and painted his face white. They had magically elongated his teeth, so that they were pointy, and he was wearing black pants, a white puffy shirt, and a black silk cloak, red on the inside. When Lina saw him, her eyes widened.

"Wow, Remus, you look . . . sexy," was all she could say. She noticed him looking her up and down multiple times. She struck a pose, threw her hands behind her head, ruffling her hair, and said, "What do you think?"

Remus' mouth hung open. He could say nothing. She could tell he was happy with her appearance.

She was wearing a long, straight black dress, with a pointed collar at the top. The fabric had a black spider-webbed pattern, and she wore a black leather pendant with a spider on it. Her stockings were black fishnets, with black pumps. Her long, dark hair was perfectly straight (covering her ears, of course), and her eyes were shining brighter than ever.

"I know, I'm to hot for words," Lina said jokingly.

"No, really, Celina, you are too hot for words."

Lina smiled and turned around, showing Remus the scar she had on her neck. Since he was going as Dracula, they decided for her to be Dracula's victim, he had given her a small hickey. Just a small one. Nonetheless, it was fun while it lasted.

"Thank you for the last little piece, Remus," she said as he wrapped one arm around her waist, escorting her to the Great Hall.

"Oh, it was no trouble, really," he said, a hint of a smile on his face. "I did quite a nice job, didn't I?"

"_Quite_ a nice job."

They arrived in the Great Hall. Instantly, jaws dropped. The third-year watched her, his jaw hanging open. The girl she had set him up with grabbed his chin and turned his face so he was looking her in the eye. He smiled sheepishly. The fifth-year who had asked her followed her as she walked away and muttered, "Damn, I hate you, Remus." Remus threw him a sly smile as they made their way over to where the Marauders stood.

"Hey guys," Remus said. Sirius and James' eyes widened. Peter's mouth opened and closed repeatedly. Lily elbowed James, who cried, "Ow! I mean, um, you look . . . nice."

"Thanks, James; you don't look too bad yourself." That was a complete lie – James looked hideous, but that was the point.

The Great Hall was in a completely different form than usual. Thousands of pumpkins floated in mid-air, bats flew around the ceiling, and about fifty coffins stood, lined up along the walls, closed, and rattling every so often. Bandages hung out of the coffins, as though they contained a mummy.

In that moment, Dumbledore stepped up to the teacher's table. He searched the crowd of people with smiling eyes, but when he found Lina with Remus' arm around her waist, he frowned. Celina stepped away quickly from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just . . . Dumbledore was watching us, that's all."

"Well, why should that matter?"

Lina had to think quickly. "Well, I just felt uncomfortable with him staring at me like that, that's all."

"Welcome, students, to our first annual Hogwarts Halloween Costume Ball!" The students applauded politely. "I am quite excited to be holding this Ball for you. It is an exciting opportunity, and I hope it will become a tradition and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, without further a due, let the festivities begin!"

Immediately, music came on, all the hits of the age. Not one person wasn't dancing, singing along, or chatting gaily with friends. It wasn't long before a slow song came on.

"Come on; let's go, before Dumbledore can stare at you again. Then again, how can he not stare at you? You really look great tonight."

Lina almost hurled. The thought of her own dad thinking she was sexy was disgusting. But Remus couldn't know that.

In that moment, she looked back on the last couple of months. She realized how many times she had said, _But he couldn't know that_.

They moved over to a dark corner of the Great Hall. Remus wrapped his arms around her waist, and instantaneously, she felt like she was lying underneath the sun on a hot June day. They swayed back and forth like branches in a storm, with her head resting on his shoulder. She took in his ashy boy smell – it made her knees buckle. She felt like nothing could tear them apart.

Near to the end of the song, Lina lifted her head and looked into Remus' eyes. He grinned wider than she had ever seen anyone grin. Slowly, very slowly, she leaned in and kissed his lips. He responded by doing the same, and wrapping his arms tighter around her waist.

Funny how a simple dance can make you feel so warm and happy inside.

After the dance, Remus escorted her back over to where Peter was.

Remus knew that James and Lily were probably gone still, but he didn't see Sirius anywhere. He looked around and asked, "Where's Sirius?"

"I dunno. He found some chick that was hitting on him and took her off to dance. I bet we won't see him all night," Peter said. Lina made note of how he was alone, not talking to anyone, admiring the uniform he wore.

After a moment or two, Lina saw the door to the Great Hall open. In walked Lily and James, Lily giggling madly. Sirius joined them a minute or so after that.

"Hey guys. How was your dance?" Sirius asked.

"It was . . . er, sweet. What about you?" Remus said, motioning to Lily and James.

"Oh, it was fine," James said sarcastically. Lily giggled again.

"Yeah . . . Alexa and I had a good time," Sirius said.

"You sure pick up girls fast, huh?" Lina asked.

"Hell yeah!" he cried. They all laughed. Then, Sirius had an idea.

"Seeing as it's Halloween and all, why don't we play a little game of truth or dare?" he said. The Marauders willingly agreed. Sirius continued, "Alright, I'll go first. Er, Remus, truth or dare?"

With a mischievous glint in his eye, he replied, "Dare." Lily and Lina "ooh-ed."

"Alright, then. I dare you to go up and flirt with Carolina."

There was a stunned silence among the group. James' jaw dropped, Lily bit her lip, Peter let out a small squeak, and Remus looked to the ground. Only Lina seemed to be confused.

"Sirius, I . . . I don't think that's quite fair," Peter piped up.

"Nonsense, guys, we all know that Carolina won't fall for it. And besides, Remus' got a better girl now. None of it matters anymore, right?"

Still, Remus looked a bit uncomfortable. But then he said "Fine," and turned and walked away.

When he was out of earshot, James said, "Sirius, mate, that's not exactly fair."

Lina leaned over to Lily and whispered, "Who is Carolina?"

"Carolina was Remus' ex-girlfriend, the one who cheated on him in his fifth year."

Lina's heart sunk. This was the same girl who broke Remus' heart for some other loser. Perhaps this time, she would do the opposite – go after him.

"Don't worry about it, Leen; he was heartbroken because of her. He hates her and would never get back together with her. Besides, he loves you too much. What reason would he have to go with some other freak who just wants to make out with him, and not love him for who he is?"

A few minutes later, Remus came back. He wore a look of shock, and at the same time, disgust. His lips were bright red. With lipstick.

Lina almost screamed.

"Leen, I swear on my life, it's not what you think!" Remus cried before she could say anything.

"Whoa. Jesus, man, how much did you flirt?" Sirius exclaimed.

"All I said was, 'Hey. Lookin' good tonight,' and then she just reaches out, grabs my cloak, pulls me in and kisses me. It was absolutely the most vile thing I have ever encountered," Remus said, wiping the lipstick off his lips, leaving big red streaks on the back of his hands. Then, he looked to Lina, who was still standing there with her mouth hanging open.

He grimaced and said, "You do believe me, don't you?"

"It's kind of hard to, Remus. I mean, you had her red lipstick all over your lips."

"I just told you – all I said was that she was looking good, and she kissed me! If you know me at all, you know that I would never cheat on you! You heard me talking to James that night. I never have those one-night loves. I would never cheat on you," Remus said firmly. He bit his lower lip.

But Lina wasn't so sure.

He took her hands gently and said, "Celina Artemis Peterson, I will bet anything in the world that I did not do anything more than I have said, and I did not want her to kiss me. I will tell my deepest, darkest secret to this entire school before I let her do it again. I despise Carolina – she hurt me, and I would never go back to her for that."

Lina looked at her hand in his. How could she be so sure that he was telling the truth?

But when she looked back up at him, she saw something in his eyes that pushed her off the fence. His eyes were pleading, begging for her forgiveness. She knew, in that one glance, that he was telling the truth.

Remus pulled her closer, one arm around her waist, and whispered into her ear, "I love you, Lina, and there's nothing in the world that will ever change that."

In response, Lina turned her head and kissed him softly.

When it was over, Remus ran his hand down her arm and said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she said, turning back to the rest of the Marauders, who were now looking at her as if in a trance.

"You guys alright?" Remus asked, laughing.

"Yeah, we're fine," Lily said.

"It's just that . . . Jesus, man, you have such a way with the ladies," James said.

"Yeah," Sirius added. "There is no way in hell I could get a girl to come back to me if something like that happened to me."

"You two must really love each other . . ." Lily sighed.

Remus threw Celina a look, and then said, "Yeah, I'd say so."

"Alright, James, it's your turn to dare someone."

The group had just made James go in the middle of the dance floor and do the Chicken Dance. It had been quite funny, but the only problem was that since James was so popular, he started a trend, and soon, everyone was doing the chicken dance.

"Okay, then." James scanned each person's eyes, looking for a sign of hesitation. He stopped at Lina.

"Ah, Celina Peterson. You look a bit nervous here . . . truth or dare?"

Celina sighed and said, "Dare."

James raised his eyebrows, and then motioned for Lily, Sirius and Peter to lean in. They whispered together for a moment, but then emerged with huge smiles on their faces.

"What do you think it is?" Remus whispered in her ear.

"I don't want to know . . ." she whispered back.

"After much discussion, we have decided upon your fate," Lily said. She looked at James, trying to contain a huge laugh.

"Your dare . . ." the four of them burst out laughing until James calmed them down again. "Your dare is to ask Snape for a slow dance."

Lina's mouth dropped open in horror. "There is no way –"

"You have to, Leen. It's the rules of the game," Lily said.

"Yeah. You don't want to be branded as a chicken, do you?" Peter piped up.

As if on cue, a slow song came on.

"Go!" Sirius said, pushing her away. She turned around. She gave Remus a pained look, and then continued to find Snape.

She found him, hanging out in a corner by himself. She almost wanted to puke. She slowly walked over to him, forced a smile and said, "Want to dance?"

Snape looked around, as if thinking she was talking to someone else. "Yeah, you," Lina said. He practically jumped forward. He wrapped his arms around her waist, smiling broadly. Lina cautiously put her arms around his neck.

It was the worst three and a half minutes of her life. His hair was so greasy that he could oil a car with it, and he smelled of the dungeons. He wasn't exactly a great dancer, either – he kept stepping on her feet and apologizing inaudibly. She had a feeling that after the forth time of him doing so, her big toe on her right foot was broken.

Finally, the dance was over. She was about to thank him when he pulled her closer to him and kissed her. It was even worse than the dance itself had been.

When they unlocked lips, he turned and ran, without even saying good-bye.

Lina wiped her mouth and limped back over to the Marauders. When she got there, they were all applauding her greatly.

"I would have to say that that is the bravest thing anyone has ever done," Lily cried.

"Bravo!" James exclaimed. Sirius whooped with laughter, and even Peter was chuckling. Remus was the only one who seemed displeased.

"Come on, Remus. You flirted with Carolina, I danced with Snape. We both know it was only a game," Lina said.

"I know. It's just . . . I know that Snape likes you. He kissed you, didn't he?" Remus asked uneasily.

Lina bit her lower lip and said, "Unfortunately, yes, and I can say to you, without a doubt, that if I was asked who the better kisser was, it would most definitely be you."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her again, but Lina stopped him.

"You might not want to do that . . . try again after I wash my mouth out with soap."

The rest of the dance went on fairly normally – everyone else was dared to do something, but nothing equally as horrible as poor Lina, who had conjured up mouthwash and had used the full bottle. She began to notice, however, a group of Slytherin boys were all crowding near to the coffins, one at each. They were each holding their wands with a tight grip, and kept looking around anxiously at one another. Lina couldn't help but think that something was up.

"Remus, have you noticed those guys?" she asked him.

"What about them?"

"Well, they're just standing there. I know they're up to something, but I don't know what."

Remus smiled and said, "Oh, relax, Leen, it's fine. They probably just don't think themselves cool enough to dance or anything."

But Lina wasn't so sure.

Around eleven o'clock, the ball was just about over. The band that Dumbledore had conjured was getting tired. A voice boomed from the microphone.

"Well, this is the last song of the night. Everyone grab your sweetheart for one last slow dance."

Remus smiled and extended his hand. He bowed and asked, "May I have this dance?"

Lina laughed. This was partly why she loved him. He was a gentleman, but still had a sense of humor.

"Of course," she replied, taking his hand. He led her over to a dark corner, away from Dumbledore's watchful eyes. Again, he led her in the rhythmic movements of the song. Again, his kiss was warm, his lips full and soft, and his hands stroking her face gently, like a breeze tickling her cheeks. But unlike this time, they didn't get to finish the dance.

When Remus withdrew from her, she buried her face in his cloak. He may have looked like a monster, but he was still hot to her.

But all of a sudden, a coffin nearby rattled loudly. Lina raised her head, and Remus turned around, his arms still around her waist.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I have no idea. But it would be really great if it didn't disturb us again."

But Remus' request was not granted. For in that moment, a nearby voice whispered, _"Alohomora!"_ All the coffins in the Great Hall flung open.

Instantaneously, a large wolf came bounding towards Lina from one of the coffins. She screamed and jumped back. Remus' eyes widened in horror. But then, he seemed to get a hold of himself, and tried to calm her down.

"Lina, think of something funny! Think of something funny! It's a boggart!" Remus shouted. But she was too frightened to move, let alone think of something funny. The wolf gnashed his teeth and leaped at her.

Remus jumped in front of it just in time. The wolf froze, and immediately changed into a large, glowing orb. Remus stood in front of the orb and shouted, _"Riddikulus!"_ The orb changed into a balloon, which flew around in circles above the heads of the staff and the students and disappeared back into the coffin.

Lina put her hand on Remus' shoulder and peeked up over him. He was breathing heavily, like he had just had the wind completely knocked out of him.

"What did you say that was again?" she whispered.

"A boggart," Remus answered. "It's a shape-shifter, which takes the shape of whatever frightens the person the most. I'm assuming, in this case, that what frightens you the most is a wolf?"

"I guess so . . ." Lina murmured. She was thinking about what Remus' shape had been. What was so frightening about a crystal ball?

But in focusing so hard, she, once again, accidentally read Remus' thoughts. _Wolves . . . wolves frighten her the most . . . monster . . . ._


	7. The Great Betrayal

Seven

Needless to say, after the boggart fiasco, Dumbledore was furious. The next morning at breakfast, he let it all out.

"Whoever was foolish enough to let the boggarts out of the coffins, we have ways of identifying you. It was an extremely idiotic thing to do – the many First-Year Students were completely horrified, having no knowledge of what a boggart was and how to deal with them. If we find out who you are, you will be given a month's worth of detention, or worse. And we will be contacting your parents. So pray that you are not caught."

"Wow, I've never seen Dumbledore so mad," Remus said to her that day.

Lina chuckled ironically and murmured, "I have."

He looked back to her, his mouth full of food, and asked "What was that?"

"Nothing," Lina said quickly. He shrugged and turned back to his plate. Lina sighed with relief.

One by one, the people responsible for the incident began to be caught and condemned to detention with Filch. October faded into November. The orange sun hung over the bare trees, casting an eerie glow on the grass. Leaves littered the ground, as though they had fallen from the sky. With the promise of the Christmas holidays only a month away, the students had high hopes for being able to get out this place and go home. For Lina, this was the only home she had. She hoped that Remus and the Marauders would stay with her, but that she doubted.

What she did know was that Snape was still after her. She felt like she could never really be alone, as though he were always watching her. He was in almost every one of her classes, and he always sat behind her, watching her like a hawk. But she didn't dare mention him to Remus. She knew that even before the dance, they had hated each other. Now, every time they passed, Lina had to grab his hand to stop him from socking him, or flipping him off. Snape would smirk at him and walk away, a look of triumph on his face. If anyone even mentioned the name, Remus would give them a look, like if they said it again, he would sever _their_ nape.

Defense Against the Dark Arts continued normally, but John was no longer showing any sign of emotion beyond that of how he would feel about any student. Of course, every so often, he would want to talk to her, but he never said anything like he had that first night. Lina had high hopes that perhaps it had all been fake, and he didn't really love her anymore. But at the same time, she felt horrible for not continuing to love him after he left. How did he feel about her, in reality? And didn't he know about Remus?

Remus noticed something was wrong. She would walk out of the class and more of a run, biting her lower lip, avoiding the eye of Professor Martin and himself. And Lina noticed that whenever Professor Martin mentioned changing topics, Remus would tightly grip the sides of his chair, as if praying that he wouldn't change it to a certain topic. Neither of them could help being worried about the other.

Finally, after the fourteenth consecutive time of this behavior, Remus sprinted up to Lina after class to speak with her.

"Leen, what's up? You haven't looked me in the eye whole class, or Professor Martin. And then you run away after it's over. You've been doing this every week. What's wrong, is it me, or is it Professor Martin, or what?" he asked, panting to try and keep up with her fast pace.

_It's both of you,_ she thought in her mind. But Remus couldn't know that.

"It's nothing, I'm alright. Don't worry about me," she murmured, trying to cover up the subject.

"Obviously, something's wrong. Is he checking you out or something?" he continued.

Lina threw him a look of horror.

"Of course not, Remus! What made you think that? That's disgusting!" she cried.

"Actually, it's completely logical. Here's this handsome man, early twenties, teaching a class full of students. And then there's a beautiful girl with a hot body right in his classroom. It's not like he can help it, Leen," Remus said innocently. Lina smiled.

"Okay, maybe I am beautiful with a hot body. But still, he's a respected man who won't check out his students!" she exclaimed.

"I suppose so . . ." he muttered. Then he turned to her and grinned, adding, "So modest."

She kissed him. Up until then, she had seen wondering why she loved Remus so much. That confirmed it – the fact that he cared enough to ask, the fact that he was brave, the fact that he was awesome at complimenting, and of course, the fact that he was an incredible kisser.

But still, she was worried about him. She tried to say something, in hopes of not getting rejected.

"But what about you, Remus? You have been acting weird as well. Every time he mentions changing topics, you get all tense. It's kind of strange."

"Oh, that's nothing, I just get overly excited, that's all." He smiled weakly, trying to hide his feelings. He had said that was all. He was just excited, that was all.

But Lina wasn't so sure.

That evening, Remus came up to her, a piece of parchment in his hand. He was reading it interestedly and repeatedly, his eyes scanning the page back and forth like a metronome.

"What's that?" Lina asked nosily.

"This?" he responded, motioning to the paper. "It's a note I got from someone, asking me to meet them by the lake tomorrow."

"What for?" she questioned suspiciously.

"They say they want me to help them study for Ancient Runes. They must be in my class, then – he has no other seventh-year classes . . ." he muttered.

"Who's it from?" she pursued.

"I don't know, there's no name."

A knot formed in Lina's stomach. This wasn't right – she knew it.

"It seems innocent enough. I'm the only person in my class who understands anything the Professor says," Remus added.

But Lina wasn't so sure.

"Can I come along? I took Ancient Runes in Durmstrang – maybe I could help, too."

"Well, I suppose you could accompany me along the way, but the person says they want to meet me alone – they're embarrassed by the fact that they suck at it so badly."

This confirmed Lina's fears. The person wanted them alone? Maybe it was Snape, and he wanted to beat Remus up or something. Or perhaps it was someone else.

"Remus, I don't think you should go. It seems suspicious."

"How so?" he asked, his hands on his hips.

"Well, for one thing, it wasn't signed."

"Come on, Leen. They probably were embarrassed or afraid that someone would find it."

Lina was quick to jump on another reason. "Well, they want you alone. Doesn't that seem suspicious?"

"Not really. If they were going to do something, they would do it somewhere more private. After all, tons of people hang out by the lake. We go there almost every week, after all. What does that say?"

But Lina wasn't so sure.

Against her wishes, Remus insisted that he go. He allowed her to walk with him, but agreed that they'd part by the Stone Circle, where the rest of the Marauders would keep her company.

The next morning, she awoke late. Her hair was a rat's nest on her head – she had had a restless night. She had tossed and turned, visions of Remus coming back with his clothes torn and his nose bleeding from a fight with Snape. Once in her dreams, he even came back with his head hanging off, held on only by a flap of skin like Sir Nicholas, who came up to him and said, "Forget about the Headless Hunt. We could start our own nearly-headless club!"

When she awoke, Lily was standing over her, showered, dressed, and holding her wand.

"Remus left already. He didn't have time. The person wanted to meet him about an hour ago, and he was already late as it was. He said to tell you that he left and he would meet you by the Stone Circle."

"He left already?" Lina cried, sitting bolt upright, her hair sticking up at all angles. "I told him I wanted to go with him!"

"Don't worry about it, Leen, he'll be back soon. For now, let's just go to the Stone Circle and wait for him," Lily said calmly.

"No, I've got to go now!" Lina grabbed her wand and tapped her shoulder with it. She was instantly dressed. Then she tapped her head, and her hair flattened and crimped itself. She put her wand in her back pocket and flew out the Girl's Dormitory Door.

Lily stared after her, shouting, "Hey, how'd you do that?"

Celina ignored her. She had to get to Remus. Even though he was a smart guy, sometimes he could be so dense. The picture of him with his head falling off was embedded in her mind – she couldn't get it out of her head. Of course, Snape couldn't rip his head off. But Remus had said himself that Snape was gifted in the Dark Arts. He could curse him and hurt him. What if she got there, and he was already badly wounded?

She flew past the prefects guarding the Staircase. She got to the Entrance Hall and sprinted down the staircase. She was running so fast that she almost bumped into a tall man in front of her. She screeched to a halt.

"Whoa, slow down, Celina," said Professor Dumbledore.

"Hi, Professor. I can't talk now," she said quickly.

"Why are you calling me Professor? I am your father, after all, Celina."

"Not so loud!" she hissed. "I told you, I can't talk now. I've got to get outside. Now. Excuse me."

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked, stopping her with his hand.

"I have to go find Remus!" she cried indignantly.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about him," Dumbledore said, staring deep into her. "How's your relationship with him been?"

At first, she flinched, hoping he wasn't hinting at what she thought he was. But then she said, gritting her teeth, "It's fine, now move!"

Dumbledore frowned and said, "Don't you take that tone with me!"

"Dad! You're being fatherly! I called you Dad, are you happy now?"

"I suppose, but I still wanted to talk to you about Remus . . ."

But again, Celina wasn't listening. She had broken away from his grasp and continued dashing outside, despite the crowd of people trying to do the same.

She finally broke free and got outside. People around her were chatting gaily, holding hands with their lovers and taking strolls by the lake, or just showing off their magic for their friends. She even saw one couple next to the lake, locked in an intimate kiss.

But the closer she looked at the couple, the more her heart twisted into knots. They weren't a couple. But perhaps they would be after Lina was done with them.

She stomped over to the couple, tears in her eyes, to see if it was really who she thought it was. They were rolling on the ground, the male on the bottom.

"Remus, how could you?" she shouted, so everyone nearby could hear.

His eyes, which had been shut tight, opened wide. He looked as though he had just been let out of a curse – he was dazed and confused. When he looked up and saw Celina standing over him, he rolled over on top of the girl and hastily stood up.

"Lina, it's not hat you think!" Remus exclaimed.

"Is something the matter?" the girl asked, breathing heavily from all of her excitement.

"Carolina, why were you kissing me?" he cried. His eyes were wild, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Oh, don't try and cover up now! I saw you – you were making out like . . . like . . . I don't know! But you certainly wanted to be there! This is the second time this has happened, Remus! I don't think I can trust you anymore!"

"Lina, wait!" Remus called.

But for him, it was too late. Lina was already halfway up the path back to the Stone Circle.

What Lina didn't know was what happened after she left.

"Come on, Remus. Don't worry about her – she was unimportant," Carolina said soothingly.

"What are you saying? Of course she's important!" he yelled.

Carolina laughed greedily, flouncing her long, honey-blond curls. "Oh, let me guess. She told you she loved you, didn't she?"

All Remus could do was stand there, his mouth hanging open, watching Lina flee back to the castle. Once, she turned back to him, but only for a second. The next moment, she was running back to the castle again. Remus buried his face in his hands and fell on the hard ground. He knew he had lost her. She hadn't even had enough time to get to know him yet. If she really knew him, she would know that he would never do something like what she had accused him of.

"Yes, she did," he said. "And I believe her, one hundred percent. And you know what, Carolina? I love her, too," he whispered, still staring after her.

She grabbed his hand and said, "Oh, Remus, stop thinking about her. She doesn't really love you. I do, Remus. I really love you."

"Oh, yeah?" he retorted, turning to face her. "You love me? Then why did you cheat on me like that?" He sighed and continued, "I felt like my world was collapsing around me when I saw you kissing that other guy. And now she feels what I felt. I can't believe I caused her that kind of pain. No one deserves that, Carolina. Except maybe you."

And with that, he ripped away from her and ran after Lina.

By the time that Remus had left the lakeside, Lina was already in her bedroom. Not her dormitory, that wasn't private enough. She went to the bedroom she used to occupy when she didn't attend the school. She hadn't been there many times since the school year started. She had stayed n her dormitory, so as to be close to Remus if she needed him. Now, she wanted to alone.

No one came to bother her. No one knocked on her door. No sounds could be heard besides her sobs.

How could he do such a thing to her? After she had forgiven him the first time? She had thought they would be different – the kind of couple that would be together all through their school year and then would marry a couple years later. After all those tender moments – when they had first confessed their love to one another, cuddling by the Common Room fire, slow dancing at the Halloween Ball. Of all people, Remus would know what it felt like to be cheated on. How could he do it to another person if it had been so horrible for him?

Suddenly, a knock came on the portrait that guarded her room. She magically fixed her tear-streaked face and fixed her mascara, which had been running down her face. She went to the wooden door and opened it, then continued to the portrait and opened that with the password. One of the last people she wanted to see stood there.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You left before I could talk to you earlier, with a very nasty tone, I might add . . . are you alright? You keep sniffling. Do you have a cold, honey?" he said.

She hadn't realized that she had been sniffling so much. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the weather, that's all."

"Oh," Dumbledore said, inviting himself in. He conjured up a chair and sat down.

"I've been noticing some things, Celina," he said.

"Things? What kinds of things?" she asked. She knew exactly what kinds of things, but he couldn't know that.

"Well, first off, how's Remus been of late?"

Her back straightened a bit. "He's fine," she replied stiffly.

"Have you two been spending a lot of time together recently?" he pursued. She knew where this was going, and she wasn't going to give in.

"Yes, but I have a feeling that might come to an end soon," she said.

"What have you been doing with him?"

Lina jumped indignantly to her feet and shouted, "Dad! What are you suggesting? I'm_ not_ going out with Remus, if that's what you mean!"

"Well, it's just that at the Ball on Halloween, I saw him put his arm around your waist . . ."

"_Dad!_ It was just between friends! It was, like, a joke! He doesn't _really_ like me!"

"Alright, Celina, I trust you. It's just that I don't want you getting into a romantic relationship. You know that because of your Special-ness, it would be very difficult for you to have such a relationship. Anyone you get serious about will not be able to stay with you forever, and you will eventually end up heartbroken. Do you understand why I don't want you to get into something like that?" Dumbledore asked. Lina knew that he had never been more serious about anything in his life. She shivered. She felt him bearing into her, searching through her heart and her soul for any sort of hesitation. He looked for some sort of emotion in her face. She tried as hard as she could to keep it impassive as she nodded.

"Alright, Celina. I suppose I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart."

He turned to go. Once he got beyond the portrait, she breathed a sigh of relief. He seemed to believe her. But that was the least of her worries.


	8. Veritaserum tells All

Eight

For the next week or so, Lina avoided Remus as much as possible. He seemed to follow her, seemed to keep trying to get her to talk to him. But whenever he neared her in the halls, she'd just run faster. At this point, she'd rather date Snape than be near him. He had hurt her, and there wasn't much that could change that.

At mealtimes, she would make Peter sit between them. That way, she wouldn't have to look at him from across the table, and she wouldn't have to feel his stares from beside her. No one talked at the meals anymore, for fear of angering them further. It was probably the most silent the Marauders had been in a long time.

As for John, he sensed that Remus was no longer going out with her. He noticed that they barely made eye contact, didn't say a word, and she was no longer laughing and joking all the time, let alone with him. And now that he sensed it, he didn't mind showing it after class. And she didn't mind his presence anymore.

"Lina, may I speak with you after class?" he asked one day, about two weeks after the initial break-up.

"Of course, Professor," she said. As usual, she waited for the rest of the class to leave. After they were all gone, John put the sound proofing charm on the door.

The usual chair was waiting for her as after her charmed the door. She sat down and made herself comfortable. She slumped into the chair. She wanted to sink into it, let it take all of her worries and fears away. She wanted to let it all out, to burst out crying, and to have someone's shoulder to lie on. Unfortunately, the shoulder she usually turned to was no longer an option.

"Are you alright, Leen?" he asked the second she sat down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied hastily.

John sighed and let out a chuckle. "No, you're not. I know you. You're angry about something. You never talk in class, you haven't passed a single note, you don't make eye contact with any of your friends, especially Remus. Something's wrong. I don't know why I even bothered to ask in the first place," he said. "Can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to let it all out on him, and then have him tell her it was alright. She wanted him to hug her and hold her and fondle her, like he always had before. Maybe that's what would happen if she told him.

Maybe she had missed him more than she thought.

Her lower lip quivered slightly, and she bust into tears.

"He cheated on me! Why did he have to cheat on me? It's not fair! I thought we'd be forever!" she cried.

"Who cheated on you?" John asked, shocked by this new piece of news.

"Remus! He told me he loved me! And then he went on to the lake and I found him making out with . . . with that . . ."

He walked over to her, his eyes saddened and full of pity. He outstretched his arms and she fell into him, soaking his robes with tears. He patted her on the back. It soothed her a bit, calmed her down slightly.

"Shh, it's alright, Leen. It's alright," he crooned.

Once she had calmed down, she withdrew from him and wiped her running mascara.

"Now, who was he making out with? Because if you want me to, I'll beat her to a bloody pulp."

Lina laughed uneasily and replied, "It was that Carolina girl. He had been going out with her before he met me, and she cheated on him. How he could go back with someone who cheated on him, I don't know. But he did."

She let out a loud sniffle.

"Oh, Lina. That's horrible. I'm so sorry," John said.

"It's alright, I'll live. I don't know how, but I'll live."

John bit his lip and took her hand, rubbing it softly. "Well, you know that whatever happens, you've got me to turn to. I'll never let you down, Lina. And I would never do something like that to you."

Her eyes looked to the ground, then flickered back to him. He hadn't taken his eyes off her. He leaned into her. She could feel it coming. She tried to remember his kiss, but after so many years, she had forgotten. She would finally remember it.

His lips brushed against hers. He was gentle, but firm – it was just as good as she remembered. He wrapped his arms around her waist, warming her insides. But though she loved it, she couldn't help but notice that it was certainly not the same as Remus'.

When it was over, all she could do was blush and look at the ground. John was beaming excitedly.

"I didn't realize how much I truly missed that," he said.

After every Defense Against the Dark Arts class, she would go and talk to John. And whenever they didn't have a class together, he would come to her old room. Now, instead of stifling a sob every time she saw Remus, she simply ignored him. She didn't need him anymore, now that she had John.

But still, every time she saw Remus look at her with those imploring eyes, she felt a pang of guilt. Was this really what she wanted?

One night, John came to see her. He had noticed, yet again, that something wasn't right. He could accept the fact that she may still be upset about her break-up – after all, he would have been too. But this was different. She was denying that things were wrong, and it was certainly not the same as it had been before he had left the school. He knew something was wrong, though she failed to admit it.

"Leen, I don't want you to say nothing's wrong, because I know something is. It doesn't have the same spark it used to. I mean, you're a better kisser than I remembered, but that could be just my memory. You don't seem to be totally into it, Leen. Tell me what's wrong. Please," he begged, so quickly it made her jump.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" she asked.

"Well, before, you were so into this whole relationship – I mean, before you came here. But now, you seem to be pretending like you care, but everyone knows you're just acting. You're playing Happy-Go-Lucky, and that's not fair to me. If you don't really love me, I want to know," John said.

Lina chuckled to herself and said, "Oh, John, you know I love you. I have no reason to be upset, so why would I bother wasting my time with such things? Leave it be."

But John wasn't so sure.

He knew something had happened. When he had known Remus in years past, he knew that he was a good guy, who wouldn't hurt a flea. There was no way he would cheat on a girl like that, especially one so devoted. And besides, he cheated with the very person who had cheated on him. That wasn't right. He wouldn't do that.

So knowing that Lina wasn't happy and Remus wasn't happy, he wouldn't be happy until they were. He devised a plan of action.

The next day, Lina walked down the halls, alone, as usual. Remus walked alone, as well. The group was sort of afraid to their reactions with each other, and they weren't sure who to believe. They knew Remus would never go back to Carolina, but Lina had seen them making out passionately by the lake. Had he really decided to leave her? After all he had said and done, after what he had said to James?

"_You know that whenever I like someone I'm serious about it!"_

If he had been so serious, why was he lying on the ground, rolling around with Carolina?

They wanted to believe him, but the evidence was against them. So they avoided him.

As for Lina, she wanted to be alone. She didn't want to interfere with the Marauders until she was completely healed. After all, they still had a bit of a soft spot for their old pal Remus, so they would be likely to try and talk her into forgiving him. But she was not going to give in. If she didn't get that respect from him, he would get no mercy from her.

She wanted to believe him, but the evidence was against him. So she avoided everyone.

Finally, it was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She had been waiting for this class all day. She couldn't wait to see John. He was now basically the only thing she lived for.

She was about to go speak with him, as she usually did, when she felt someone grab her arm. She turned around to see the person she least wanted to see looking her straight in the eye.

"Can I talk to you for a sec, please, Leen?" Remus asked.

"Don't call me that," she said, hardly looking at him.

"Fine then. May I please speak with you a moment, Celina?" he continued stonily. She hated the way he said that. There was an edge in his voice, like he was incredibly annoyed with her. That wasn't fair. If anyone were to be annoyed, it should be her – what gave him the right to talk to her, after what he had said and done?

"I suppose . . ." she said. He pulled her out of the classroom and led her through the third floor until he found a classroom that was empty. He dragged her in and murmured, _"Vocalo proofiero!"_

She looked at the ground. She had no intention of speaking unless he said something worth responding to.

"You hate me, don't you?" he asked.

"I don't hate you. I couldn't hate you. I love you, but you hurt me, and I can't be treated like that!"

She sighed. So much for not speaking.

"Well, if you love me, then why don't you believe me when I say that I love you too?" Remus cried.

Lina said, "That's just the trouble. I have no reason to love you anymore – it's just that I can't stop. It's like breathing.

"You told me you'd tell your deepest, darkest secret to the entire school before you let her do it again. You might as well start telling, Remus, beginning with me."

"Celina, I can promise you that I did not kiss her – _she_ kissed _me!_"

"Oh, yeah, like at the ball, right? You just flirted with her a tiny bit and she kissed you! You said so yourself – you're not a chick magnet, Remus. It's not like she wanted you back."

That was a huge blow to Remus' pride. It was bad enough when he knew himself that he was not a chick magnet, but when someone else said it, someone he loved and wanted more than anyone or anything else in the world, it really hurt.

His mouth hung open a little bit, a look of defeat on his face. Lina smirked triumphantly, though inside, her heart burned. It stung her deeply that she was saying these things. These were things she never dreamt of saying to Remus, and now, here they were, flying out of her mouth at lightning speed. And she was acting like she was happy about it.

As she was thinking about the horrible things she was saying, she didn't notice that Remus was still staring at her. In a flash, he reached forward, grabbed her shoulders, and kissed her. She realized how much she had missed that. But she couldn't go back – not after what he had done.

When they withdrew from one another, his eyes were sad and forlorn. "Didn't you feel anything?"

She shrugged her shoulders and lied, "No."

Remus turned around and was about to walk back out the door of the classroom. She knew something was wrong. If he had hurt her so badly, why did she want him back? And why was he trying so hard to get _her_ back?

He opened the door and rested his hand on the side of the wooden frame. He moved it up and down the side and, still not facing her, said, "I just want you to know, Celina, that if you ever find yourself lonely, look me up. I'm still an option."

And with that, he walked away, shutting the door behind him, leaving her alone in the dark.

And she could do no more than to bury her face in her hands and cry.

That night, Celina knocked on John's door, using their special knock.

"Come in," a voice called that she recognized too well. She stepped inside, and her heart almost stopped beating.

"Lina? What are you doing here?" Remus asked.

"Me? What about you?" she retorted tartly.

"Professor Martin asked me to come here."

Lina looked at the figure standing next to Remus, her arm in his.

"And what's _she_ doing here?" Lina asked bitterly.

"Carolina? She was here when I got here."

"Thank you for coming, Celina," John said, in a very Professor-like manner. "I've gathered you here because I've noticed that none of you have been acting right. Remus, you're very depressed and don't make contact with Lina. Lina, you're anti-social and don't make contact with Remus. And Carolina has been much more gossipy than usual, which is saying quite a lot. I knew something was up. So I think I've figured it out, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

Carolina looked quite flustered, like she had done something wrong, and she didn't want to come out with it.

"Oh, Professor Martin, that's completely unnecessary. Remus and I are just fine, right, honey?" she said, looking Remus straight in the eye.

"Please don't call me that," he murmured under his breath.

"Oh, come one, Remus, don't be embarrassed!" she said, slapping his arm playfully. Then, she did it again. She wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips. Lina looked to John, who was staring at the two of them in awe.

Lina couldn't take it. When they were finally done, she marched over to Carolina, wound up, and slapped her right across the face. She screamed and clutched her cheek, where Lina had left a five-star mark. Remus' mouth dropped open, and John tried to contain a laugh.

"Oh, my God, Lina! What is your problem?!" she cried.

"Get your hands and your lips and . . . any other part of your body off of him!" Lina exclaimed.

Carolina let out a sort of low growl and lunged at her. Remus jumped in front of her, however, holding Carolina back.

"Calm down, girls!" John shouted. "Here, have some tea."

Lina flinched. What was he doing? How was tea going to help?

Carolina, however, took it willingly. She drank deeply, as Remus and Lina watched on curiously. After a few gulps, she removed the cup from her lips and sighed in delight.

"This has to be the best cup of tea I've ever –"

Suddenly, she stopped talking. Her head lolled, and she went limp.

"What did you do?" Remus cried, with a bit too much enthusiasm in his voice. Lina glared at him.

"Don't worry, Remus. I've just given her veritaserum," John said calmly. "I knew Carolina couldn't pass up a perfectly good cup of tea."

"Truth potion? Why?" Lina asked, referring to the veritaserum.

"Because I want to know what's going on here. You haven't been acting right, Lina, and though you deny that you still love this guy, I want to help you."

"But John, what about you?" she queried.

"I won't be happy until you're happy, Leen."

Carolina raised her head, but she looked as though she were drunk.

"Ah, Carolina. I have a few questions for you."

"Ask away . . ." she said sleepily.

"How did you get Remus to kiss you the first time?"

"I grabbed his collar and kissed him. He had no part in it at all," she said in a monotone.

Lina looked nervously to Remus. Though she wanted this to work out, and she wanted to have proof that he didn't cheat on her, she'd be really embarrassed if she were wrong.

"Well, then, how'd you get him to kiss you by the lake?" John interrogated.

"Simple. I put the Imperius Curse on him."

Lina gasped, and John jumped. Remus seemed unaffected, but that made sense, sine he knew he had the curse on him. The Imperius Curse was a curse that took control over an individual's mind, and the curser could tell them to do whatever they wanted.

"I just cast the curse on him, and ordered him to kiss me. Since he had such low self-confidence, it was easy for me to penetrate his mind. Part of him wanted to be a lady's man, and that's the part I dominated. And then I told him that he hated Celina, and that he loved me instead. Unfortunately for me, that part of him was too strong. He loved Celina too much, so he kept fighting the curse," Carolina said calmly, smirking.

"You – you do realize that that's against the law, right?"

"Who doesn't know that?" Carolina said.

Remus was beaming. Celina finally knew the truth.

But something else bugged Lina.

"Well, Remus, why didn't you just tell me she put and Imperius Curse on you?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing, I knew you wouldn't believe me. But the other part I can't tell you. I'll let Carolina answer that one. Carolina?" he asked, turning to her. "Why didn't I tell Lina that you put the curse on me?"

"Because in so doing, I told you not to tell her why you had kissed me, even though you really knew why."

"That's all, Carolina. Thank you very much for your information," John said. And with that, he turned to Lina.

"I'm going to go find Professor Dumbledore and alert him of this. Carolina will be in some sort of a happy trance, and she won't know what's going on until the veritaserum has worn off. You can say anything you like."

"Oh, John, I don't know what to say," she said happily. She grabbed him in a rib-cracking hug. "It means so much to me that you'd do this for me – that you're a god enough friend to find out why this happened and to make me happier, even if it will make you sadder in the end," she said, still holding him.

"What are friends for, Leen?" John smiled. "Now, go make up with your prince charming."

John walked to the door, winked, and closed it behind him. Lina strode over to Remus, who had his arms crossed.

"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, Remus" was all she could think of to say.

"What on Earth would make you think that I would cheat on you? I, of all people would know what it feels like to see someone kiss your partner. It feels like someone cast _Rictusempra_ on you and knocked the wind out of you. And that feeling stays with you, like a scab, until it's fully healed. And that can take weeks, months, even years later. I would never instill that kind of pain on you, Celina. And I tried to explain that to you, but you just didn't seem to understand. You have no idea how horrible I've been feeling this week. My friends avoid me, because they're not sure if I'm a traitor or not. You don't even make eye contact with me, because you're too ashamed to look at a creature so grotesque. And when you do look at me, it's with fire in your eyes, burning like the fires of hell, with no mercy whatsoever. That's why I tried to talk to you, but all that did was make things worse," Remus said.

"I mean, I wish I could look back on this and say that I wasn't that mean to you, but I was a monster. I said things to you that I wouldn't say to anyone, except for maybe her," Lina said, pointing over to Carolina in the corner, who was twiddling her thumbs. "I wish I could take it all back, Remus, and start over. Can you forget what I said?"

"Not forget it, but I can forgive it," Remus said. Cautiously, he took a step towards her, as if making sure it was okay. Lina didn't want him to make the first move. She wanted to make sure he knew that she loved him, too. So what'd she do? She threw her arms around him and kissed him.

This was definitely the best kiss so far. She let herself drown in him, melting into his arms. And he embraced the opportunity for such a kiss. After a kiss like that, there was no way she would ever doubt him again.

They withdrew from each other. Remus was beaming widely, like he had just won he lottery. He had, at least for the way he had been feeling lately.

Lina smiled back and said, "Some say that you can fall in love only once, but that can't be true. Because every time you kiss me, I fall in love all over again."


	9. Anticipation

Nine

If you were to look at the Marauders that next morning, you would have thought that exams had been canceled or something. They were overly excited about everything, all because they knew that Celina and Remus had gotten back together. They were so happy that their friends were no longer fighting, and that they no longer had to pretend to side with both of them. After all, Remus had asked them to believe him, but they were a bit wary to do so. As for Lina, they wanted to side with her, but they didn't want to lose Remus as a friend in so doing. So now that that problem no longer existed, everyone was much more cheerful.

And even better for Lina, the problem had been sorted out without her father figuring out that she and Remus were a couple.

After they had withdrawn from their kiss, Lina had said, "Oh, someone's coming."

Sure enough, the second Remus removed his arms from her hips, John came through the door, with Professor Dumbledore at his side.

John walked over to her. He leaned over and quietly whispered, "Don't worry – your father doesn't have to know."

She could have kissed him. She was so worried about her father's reaction to this whole thing, and he would probably be skeptical. She was afraid that she would have to explain the whole story, including the part about dating Remus, having kissed him already, and her romance with John – now and back then. She did _not_ want to deal with something like that at the moment.

John was an expert at this sort of thing. It only took him about two minutes to convince Dumbledore of what had happened.

"Headmaster, I have noticed that Remus has been acting quite strange lately. Celina has noticed it, as well. We tried to figure out what was going on, but we couldn't think of what was wrong. We then made the connection that Carolina must have ha something to do with it, through a piece of gossip, courtesy of Rosalie, the painting on the fourth floor."

"Well, why have you asked me to come here, John? What was wrong with Mr. Lupin? Is he alright now?"

"Oh, yes sir, I'm fine. It's just that . . . well, let's let Carolina tell you," Remus said, grinning.

"Carolina?" John asked. She looked up sleepily. "Can you tell us what curse you put on Remus of late?"

"I put the Imperius Curse on him," she responded.

That was all Dumbledore needed. "The Imperius Curse? A student, in our school? What is this world coming to, that students cast such curses on other innocent students?"

Lina smiled. Remus wasn't exactly what she'd call completely innocent. She reached to the back of her neck, where the hickey had been.

"Don't take her away just yet, sir. We first need her to lift the Curse," John explained. He raised his wand and pointed it at her. She awoke from her dream-like state.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"The gig is up, Carolina. We know what you were up to," Lina sneered. Remus reached around her and put his arm on her shoulder.

Carolina looked nervously from Dumbledore to John to Remus to Lina, her blue eyes swiveling madly. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Just shut up and take it off," Remus snapped.

"And then, you'll be taking a special ride home on the Hogwarts Express," Dumbledore said.

Lina remembered it well. She was so happy in that moment – Remus' arm on her shoulder, the look on Carolina's face as she tried to get Remus on her side, the look on her father's face when he found out what had happened. It made her laugh and smile and almost cry at the same time. She couldn't be happier.

But as the middle of the month of November grew near, she noticed that Remus was becoming a bit weak. He didn't seem to be as upbeat as usual, and often went to the Hospital Wing, complaining of a headache and a stomach ache and other things. He didn't go outside anymore, because he was feeling so poorly. Lina had to walk along the grounds, all by herself.

Finally, one night, she came to the Common Room, where Remus had said he would wait for her after dinner, only to find that he wasn't there. She ran up to her Dormitory to see if he was there. He wasn't. But there was a note.

"Lina I had to go to the Hospital Wing to spend the night – I'm feeling like absolute crap. I'll see you tomorrow. Love, Remus," Lina read aloud.

She paced the Dormitory, wondering what was wrong. He seemed to do this at least once a month – decide suddenly that he was sick and go to the Hospital Wing to spend one night. Not that she doubted that he was actually sick, it just seemed too odd. Maybe he was extremely weak in his immune system, and was apt to get lots of diseases. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of some logical reason for him to be sick all the time. So she decided to go visit him in the Hospital Wing.

When she arrived, she opened the door quietly. Madam Pomfrey wasn't there. She walked around for a while, to wait for her to get back. She didn't come for about ten minutes, and when she did, she seemed surprised that Lina was there.

"What do you want, Miss Peterson?" she asked.

"I was just wondering if I could see Remus for a minute – I wanted to talk to him about something."

Madam Pomfrey bit her lip. Lina could tell she was thinking hard and very quickly. "He's . . . er . . . not feeling well, and badly needs his rest. Actually, he's sleeping right now. You wouldn't want to wake him, would you?"

"I suppose not . . ." Lina trailed off. "Well, thank you anyways, Madam Pomfrey."

"You're welcome, dear. Now, you might want to go back to the Common Room – the prefects will be making their rounds soon."

"Yes, I will. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, dear," Madam Pomfrey called as Lina walked through the door.

Lina was curious. What was going on? She knew that there was a lot more here than just Remus lying in a hospital bed, sleeping. But she couldn't figure it out. She went back to the Common Room and without even speaking to anyone, fell asleep in an armchair, staring into the fire.

Remus didn't return for the rest of the night, and arrived back in Defense Against the Dark Arts late. John, however, didn't seem to mind. Remus handed him a small piece of paper that Lina could only assume was a pass. He still looked quite weak, though. His face was pail, and he was coughing a lot. He walked over and sat down gingerly next to Lina.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," Lina responded. "You look horrible. Are you feeling any better?"

"No, not really, but Madam Pomfrey sent me back. She didn't want me to miss any more of my classes, since I've already missed about a week's worth for the entire year."

"What was wrong, anyways?" she asked.

Remus opened his mouth slightly, as if he wasn't sure. He looked to the ceiling, but then looked back to her, saying, "Stomach virus or something. Nothing Madam Pomfrey can't heal in a jiffy."

He didn't look like he was healed in a jiffy, but she didn't say anything.

"Mister Lupin!" a voice called. "What was I just saying?"

Lina looked up to see John, yelling at Remus.

"Um . . . I, er . . ." Remus stuttered.

"He doesn't know, Professor. He was too busy talking to his girlfriend," another voice came from behind Lina. She turned around and saw Snape, smirking at her.

"If you don't shut your trap this instant, I will smack you so hard, it will knock you into next Tuesday," Lina hissed. Snape grinned skeptically, but said no more.

"I see," John continued. "Mister Lupin, I'd like to see you after class."

"But, but sir –"

"_I will see you after class, Mister Lupin!_"

Lina's mouth dropped open. This was not like John at all! What was going on with everyone today? She threw him a look of contempt.

"Don't be looking at me like that, Miss Peterson. It was your fault, as well."

Lina almost flipped him off, but didn't dare. She just folded her arms across her chest and slumped deeper into her chair. If she had had eyes in the back of her head, she would have seen Snape sneering at her triumphantly.

The rest of the class, Lina refused to answer any questions. She talked to no one, and when she was asked a question and demanded of an answer, she would reply, "I don't know, sir. Maybe you should ask Snape, since he seems to know everything," or something to the same effect. John seemed greatly annoyed by this, but said not a word.

Afterwards, as Remus was gathering his stuff together, Lina waited for him and whispered, "I'll meet you outside."

Remus nodded solemnly and shooed her away. She went outside the door and closed it shut behind her. But instead of waiting patiently, she pressed her ear to the door to listen in on what they were saying.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Remus asked nervously. It was almost funny – Remus was never one to be in trouble with a teacher.

"Yes, Remus. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, I just wanted to walk to you about . . . you know," John said. "How did you do last night?"

"I'm alright, I was fine."

"Have you told Celina yet?"

There was a pause, then a stiff, "No."

"You must tell her, Remus. She gets so worried about you. If you can't trust her, whom can you trust?"

"I don't know. That's what I'm afraid of," Remus said uneasily.

"You must tell her, Remus," John repeated firmly. There was silence for a moment or two, but then he said, "Alright, I'd better let you go – you'll miss lunch. Good-bye, Remus."

"Good-bye, Professor Martin," Remus said, turning to the door. Lina jumped out of the way just as she saw the doorknob turning.

"Remus?" John called.

"Yes, sir?"

"Please, tell her."

Remus sighed and replied, "I'll try, sir," before opening the door.

"Hey," Lina said quickly, covering up for the fact that she had been listening.

"Did you hear any of that?" Remus asked, horrified.

"No, of course not," she lied. And simply as that, she walked away from the classroom, his hand in hers, thinking about what she had just heard.

How unfair was that? Remus had a secret that even _John_ knew about, but she didn't! What was this secret? Why was it so horrible that he didn't have the strength to tell her what it really was? And how come everyone else knew, but _she_ didn't, the one person who would accept him for no matter what his secret was? She remembered all the things that anyone had ever said or done that had made him seem suspicious. She remembered Professor Trelawney looking at his palm and saying, _"Well, don't worry about that, dear, you have more important things to worry about."_ And she couldn't forget when she had said, _"And you also have a dark secret to keep . . . a very dark secret . . . and unfortunately, somehow the secret will come apparent to one you do not want to know about it . . . and, goodness, my dear, it shall turn against you in a horrible way. I am terribly sorry, Mister Lupin."_ What had she meant by that?

Then she thought about her own secret. She hadn't told anyone. And all of the teachers in the school knew about it. Everyone that had ever met Lina had said that she gave off vibes of mystery, sort of, so it wasn't fair to say that she wasn't doing the same thing to him. Maybe the fact that _she_ had a secret was just as obvious for her as it was for Remus. Maybe he was walking with her, holding her hand, thinking the exact same thing.

Maybe she was over thinking it. Maybe it wasn't anything at all, and when she found out, she'd be disappointed that it wasn't anything more exciting. Maybe she was over exaggerating. Maybe. Maybe not.

As the orange November sun faded into a white December sky, Lina grew more and more anxious to discover what was going on with Remus. For some odd reason, he seemed now more cautious than ever not to let her know. She always tried to bring up things, like secrets, and he would change the subject.

"Do you have a deep, dark secret?" she would ask at random times, hoping to catch him off guard.

But he would simply reply, "Nope. Word travels too fast around Hogwarts for me to be able to keep a deep, dark secret, even if I had one, which I don't."

Nevertheless, she persisted to ask him things along the same line.

At the beginning of December, she was forced to go back up into the stuffy tower for Divination again. She had really started to hate Divination. The whole year, Professor Trelawney had been saying such things as, "Oh, my dear, be careful who you confide in this month!" or even, the week before she had caught Remus on the lake with Carolina, she had said, "Beware of broken heart, sweet child!" This was really starting to creep her out, because she was afraid of what Professor Trelawney would predict this class. Would she predict that her secret would get out? Would she predict another break-up? She really didn't want to know, but unfortunately, the glittering insect seemed to have taken a great interest in her.

That class, they were to begin Tarot Card readings. Professor Trelawney made her usual dramatic entrance through veiled curtains in the incensed room and glided over to a large armchair.

"Today, we are to begin Tarot Card readings, as I said previously. Before I begin, may I have a volunteer to help me with a demonstration?" she asked. Lina didn't raise her hand. She was called on anyways.

"Ah, Miss Peterson, would you step forward, please?"

Uneasily, Lina slipped out of her chair and walked over to the table in front of her, on which many Tarot Cards were laid. She turned back to Remus, who shrugged helplessly.

"Alright, dear, let us see what your future holds . . ." she murmured, sorting and piling the cards. After a minute or two, she said, "Ah, let us see . . . oh, it looks like the future will be cleared for you, but it will be hard for you to get there. There will be pain involved, and if I am to judge, I would say that you will not like what you find out. Do not let that get you down, however, or else a heart may be broken."

Lina stood there, in front of the table, looking blankly at the vast array of cards before her. She had no idea what the cards themselves meant, but she had an idea as to what Professor Trelawney was talking about.

A few people ooh-ed and ah-ed at this feat, and a couple of people even clapped.

"You may sit down, now, dear. Thank you for volunteering . . ."

She walked back to her seat and sat down next to Remus, who now looked extremely tense. This only confirmed Lina's thoughts as to what Professor Trelawney had meant in her Tarot Card reading.

"Another volunteer? Anyone? Anyone? Alright, Mister Lupin, will you come here please?"

Remus looked more nervous than ever. Despite the look on his face, however, he rose and walked slowly over to the table.

"Let us see what _your _future holds . . . oh, Mister Lupin, I see that at the moment, you've had a lot on your mind. What with your classes, your social life, and the – er – _troubles_ you've been having, you're finding it hard to focus. Despite what I just told Miss Peterson, it would be best for you to confide in someone about your feelings. You may not like the outcome at first, but trust me, it will turn out for the best in the end."

There was more clapping as Remus turned without a word and took his seat. He was bright red and sunk deep into his armchair, as though he wanted to disappear in the folds of the fabric.

"What was that about?" Lina asked him in barely more than a whisper.

"I have a fairly good idea . . ." Remus murmured, sinking farther into the chair.

Little did Lina know that within ten days, she would know, as well.


	10. Remus' Secret

Ten

It was a cold winter day, the day she found out his secret. December 15, 1974. It was the kind of day where your breath hangs frozen in mid-air, the kind of day where even when you're in your least favorite class, you look out the window and are suddenly glad to be inside and out of the swirling mist of cold and snow. It was the kind of day where all you want to do is sit by a fire, sipping hot cocoa through a large mug. It was a day that changed Lina's life forever.

The day itself was pretty much normal – avoiding Snape's ever-watchful eye, trying desperately to be the top student, staying away from John (who was suddenly drawing loser by the minute). Lina had never felt this way about John before – he was scaring her. It was like he was stalking her, but only in her mind. It seemed like every corner she turned, there he was, with a smirk on his face. He even haunted her in her dreams – she had had visions of him flirting with her, and then Remus accusing her of doing the same thing she had accused him of. Before, it had been like John loved her, and she was the only person he cared about in the world. Now, it was the same way, but to a completely different level. And Lina didn't like it.

After dinner that night, Remus rushed away from them all quickly. She grabbed his arm to stop him. She was sick of this happening – she wanted an explanation.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'll meet you back in the Common Room," he said simply, wrenching his arm away from her. But she kept a firm hold.

"You didn't answer my question. Where are you going?" she pursued. She was going to get an answer out of him this time.

"I said, I'll meet you back in the Common Room! Now, let go!" he said gruffly. He ripped away from her and stalked off, at almost a run.

Lina turned to Sirius and queried, "What's up with him lately?"

"Oh, he's just not feeling well lately," he replied.

"Still, there's no reason for him to treat me like that," she said.

"Of course not, it's just . . . you wouldn't understand."

"But I want to understand! I'm sick of not understanding! Why am I his girlfriend and yet I'm the only one who doesn't get it? Why would he keep something from me like this?" she cried.

"I don't know, ask him," Sirius said. She gave him a look of utter disappointment, and he said, "Fine. I'll go talk to him. Are you happy now?" She smiled, proud of herself. With that, he stood up and walked out after Remus.

Lina restlessly ate the rest of her meal. She was nervous for Remus – he had been acting weird all day. He had avoided her, ignored her, and had barely said a word to her. She knew something was wrong – why couldn't he just tell her what was the matter?

After only a couple of minutes, Lina decided she didn't feel like desert and went up to the Common Room. On her way there, she met up with Rosalie, the portrait that guarded the door to her private bedroom.

"Hello there, Lina."

"Hi, Rosalie," she said somberly.

"What's the matter? You don't look very happy," Rosalie said.

"Something's wrong with Remus. He has been acting funny all day. I'm worried about him."

Rosalie sighed and said, "Yes, I suppose you're in your right place to be worried. I would be worried if my boyfriend was acting weird like that."

"Yes . . . wait a minute, how do you know that Remus is my boyfriend?" Lina cried.

"We know all of the gossip in the school, we portraits do. Anything and everything that happens will happen in front of one of us. And then we travel from frame to frame and discuss the things we saw. Also, we get information from the ghosts. Word travels fast around Hogwarts," Rosalie explained knowledgably.

"You won't tell my father, will you?"

"Of course not, dear," Rosalie said. "Now hurry along. I'm sure Remus is anxious and ready to see you."

Lina did as Rosalie said and headed towards the Common Room. Unfortunately, when she walked through the portrait hole, she heard voices yelling to each other. She hid along the wall to eavesdrop.

"Remus, it's been a secret for long enough! It's not fair to keep her in the dark like this. She's really worried about you. How long must we do this?" cried a voice Lina recognized as belonging to Sirius.

"I don't know, mate. What if she dumps me, like Carolina did? I couldn't take it. I can't lose Celina because of a stupid secret. I don't want to take that chance," hissed Remus.

"But what if she dumps you because she feels you're being too secretive? I'd know, mate. It's happened to me before," Sirius sighed. "Besides, if she dumps you because of it, then you'll know she's not worth loving. Anyone who fears you because of who you are doesn't deserve you. And if you think about it, mate, Carolina dumped you because she's a player and cheated on you. That's a completely different thing."

She heard a fist slamming down on a table, then Remus' voice shouting, "Sirius, _I just don't want to take that chance!_ She's the only person who has really cared about me as more than a friend. And I cannot lose her."

Around the corner, she saw Sirius put a hand on his shoulder. He raised his head.

"She loves you, mate. And nothing you can say will ever change that."

There was a pause. Then:

"Take her with us tonight. If I tell her, she won't believe me. But if she sees it, she will have to believe it."

"I'm not sure that's the best way, mate. You'll recognize us, but not necessarily her. What if you hurt her by accident?" Sirius said timidly.

"Take her with us tonight," Remus repeated firmly.

Lina's heart stopped. She was finally going to find out Remus' secret. And it sounded to her as though it wasn't a good thing. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all. But it was too late – she had gotten herself into this, she was going to go through with it.

She was so busy thinking about what the secret may be that she didn't notice Remus coming around the corner. She jumped a foot in the air when she saw him.

"Oh, hey, Remus," she said nonchalantly.

"Lina, I have something to show you," he said quickly. Remus went upstairs to the dormitory and brought down James' invisibility cloak. "Follow me," he said. He and Sirius lead Lina silently to the Grand Staircase, where they were mobbed by the rest of the students coming back from dinner. James and Peter waited for them at the foot of the staircase. They silently turned and walked to a place all too familiar to Lina – Professor Dumbledore's office.

"Lupin," Remus muttered. Instantly, the gargoyle guarding the staircase jumped out of the way to omit the Marauders . . . and Lina.

Lina threw Remus a look and said, "You have your own password?"

He responded with, "Lina, put on the cloak and come with me. As for the rest of you, wait here like usual."

He tossed the cloak to Lina, who covered herself with it. He opened the door and motioned for her to follow.

"Ah, Remus," Dumbledore said.

"Hello, Professor. Is everything ready and set?" he asked.

"Yes. All the necessary preparations have been made," Dumbledore replied.

"Thank you, sir. As always, I would like to express my sincerest appreciation for allowing me to attend under my special circumstances."

"Don't worry about it, Remus," he said. "I believe that no matter who or what a young wizard is, he should be able to receive the same education as anyone else."

"Thank you, sir," Remus said. He looked to where Lina stood under the cloak, the turned and walked away. Lina followed him silently, trying not to breathe too loudly.

Once they were out of earshot, Remus whispered, "Have you figured it out yet?"

"No," she answered truthfully. She had absolutely no idea what was going on here. She gulped. She was soon going to find out.

When they reached the entrance, the Marauders joined Lina under the cloak. Remus, however, stayed visible. Lina would have asked questions, but she didn't want to irritate anyone.

When Remus got to the door, Madame Pomfrey, the nurse, was waiting for him. She opened the door for him and the rest snuck outside. She led them down to a tree, which was flailing its branches like mad. There, she left them with a stick, and turned back to the castle without a word. Once she was gone, Lina threw off the cloak and hissed, "Remus, what is going on here?"

"Hush!" he whispered. She turned to face the rest of the Marauders to ask them the same thing, but they had disappeared. In their place were a stag, a large, black dog, and a small rat. The rat scurried away and under the tree.

"Where'd James, Sirius and Peter go?" Lina asked a disgruntled Remus.

"They're Animagi. They can change into animals by tapping their wands to their foreheads. James is the stag, Sirius is the dog, and Peter is the rat."

Sure enough, at the mention of their names, the stag reared and the dog wagged its tail. The rat continued maneuvering its way around the branches of the tree. He reached a small knot in the tree and pressed it with its paw. Suddenly, the tree stopped flailing. Remus motioned for them to follow, and they followed him under the roots of the tree, into a secret passage beneath it.

The passage wound under the ground. It was a dark, twisted path, lit only by dim torches in the walls. It was obvious that this was fairly new – Lina guessed that it had been dug out around five or so years ago. She followed Remus, who was absolutely silent, until she could no longer take it.

"Remus, where are we going?" she asked, breathless from running around so much.

"We're almost there" was his answer. Reluctantly, she continued after him.

After only a couple of minutes, they arrived inside a decrepit old house. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, furniture was broken, and the place was covered with cobwebs and dust. It seemed to her like a haunted house that the muggles used to speak of before she came to Hogwarts. She moved a bit closer to Remus for protection, but he edged away.

"Where is this place?" she asked timidly, looking around with wild eyes.

"This is where it happens, Leen."

"Where what happens?" she continued.

Remus sighed. The other three, still in their animal forms, stood behind her protectively. Sirius was ready to pounce. James pawed at the ground, his horns out in front of him like swords. Peter, being a rat, didn't have a lot to offer besides sharp teeth, so he hid in the corner in fear.

Finally, Remus turned to face her. He quickly looked to the window, where the moon was beginning to show through the cracked glass.

"I don't have much time before I change. I just want to warn you not to be frightened. James and Sirius will protect you if need be. This may – no, it will – scare you. I just hope that after you find out what I really am, it won't change the way you feel about me. Because I love you, Celina. Remember that. I love you."

Lina bit her lip. She reached out to touch his hand, but he jerked back violently.

"What is going on here? Can't you just tell me?"

But before she could say another word, the room was suddenly filled with moonlight. Remus stood still as a statue, looking at the ground, his eyes closed. At first, nothing happened. But then . . .

He _changed_.

Fur grew from his hands. His finger and toe nails turned into sharp, pointed claws. His knees inverted. His nose and teeth elongated. His eyes raged like a wild fire, and suddenly, Celina knew that Remus was no longer Remus.

In front of her was a dark, scraggly wolf.

She screamed and hid behind the giant stag.

"You're . . . you're a werewolf!" she shrieked. The thing before her stood to full height. It was a lot taller

than she was. It looked around, noticing all of these other animals around him. But then, his eyes fell on Lina.

He growled and bared his teeth at her. She backed farther into the corner. He advanced on her slowly, savoring the moment before he caught his prey and tore her apart. She tried to speak, but had no voice. Instead, all that came out was a series of terrified squeaks. A low rumbling came from his throat. And if wolves could smile, she thought she saw his lips curling up maliciously.

When she finally found her voice, she yelped, "Remus! Remus, it's me! It's Lina!"

But the wolf kept creeping closer to her. She was up against the wall, with nowhere else to go. She was trapped. The wolf set up his attack and sprang.

Out of nowhere, a large, black blur came flying towards the wolf, knocking it out of the way. She still had her head attached to her shoulders, but as the dog pushed the wolf away, the wolf's claws scratched her across her left breast, leaving long, dark gashes. She cried out in pain.

As Sirius was struggling with the wolf, he barked a couple of times. James, the stag, picked Lina up by his horns and draped her over his back. He galloped around the house and through the passage, back up to the castle. The whole way there, Lina lay unconscious. But in the back of her mind, she thought she heard yelping and growling coming from the house. Her chest felt like it was being pierced by thousands of white-hot knives. She was gently placed on the ground, her head on a rock. A voice spoke to her. She could barely hear it, like it was off in the distance, calling to her.

"Hang on, Leen, I'm getting help. Just hang on for a little while longer," James said to her. She moaned softly, clutching her chest. She felt warm blood between her fingers from the scratches. James continued to call for help. He spoke in a loud voice to someone else.

"Peter, stay here and watch over her. I'll get Madam Pomfrey."

"Go, quickly!" the other voice shouted back.

She struggled to open her eyes. The blurry outline of Peter stood over her.

"It's going to be alright, Lina. Just hang on. Just hang on."

She tried to lift her head to see him better, but she didn't have the strength. Her head fell back on the rock with a soft _clunk_.

She knew no more.

Remus awoke. His head was pounding. He opened his eyes and felt his arms and legs. No more hair than usual. He checked his ears – they weren't pointy or furry. He reached into his mouth and tapped his teeth – no longer than they should be. He sighed with relief. He was done.

He casually stood up and walked around the house back to the passage. He was used to walking alone in this desolate place. He hated it, but he was used to it. He hated being a werewolf. It screwed up everything. How come he was the one who was cursed like this? Why couldn't it be someone like Snape? Maybe then he'd be a chick magnet along with Sirius and James. But then again, that didn't matter anymore. He had Celina.

He stopped short, just before he entered the underground passageway.

Celina.

Suddenly, images flashed before his eyes. He saw Celina up against the wall, cowering in fear at the mere sight of him. He saw himself charging at her, but the black blur that was Sirius jumping in front of him. He saw her contort in pain at the scratching of his claws, heard her scream echoing in his head. He saw himself locking jaws with Sirius and out of the corner of his eye, saw James, the stag, pick her up and whisk her away, accompanied by a small rat that was Peter.

Celina.

He ran through the passage as fast as he could, not stopping once to take a breath. She could be dead, and it was all his fault. She couldn't die with the impression that he didn't love her. She couldn't die before he explained what had happened. She couldn't die at all. He needed her.

Once he heaved himself through the entrance to the passage, he remembered the Whomping Willow. Luckily, a stick had been propped up against the knot in the huge tree to stop it from attacking him. Sirius was waiting for him, a grim expression on his face.

"Where is she?" Remus asked. "What did I do?"

"You better come with me," Sirius said, grimacing.

Celina felt heavy, like one huge heap of lead. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were glued shut. She tried to lift herself up, but her body was fastened to her bed. She heard voices and footsteps outside her mind.

"Hello, Madam Pomfrey. May I see her?" a male voice asked. She recognized the voice, but she was too tired to comprehend who it was.

"Yes. Just be careful with her," a woman responded. This woman must have been the Madam Pomfrey person the male had spoken of.

She heard a door closing and footsteps walking over to her. She also heard another pair of footsteps along with the first. There was a pause, in which nothing was said. But then the male asked, "Could I have a moment alone with her, please?"

Madam Pomfrey was silent for a moment, but then reluctantly said, "I suppose. But not too long, Mr. Lupin." There were more footsteps, this time walking away.

A heavy pressure was put on the bed as the male sat down. She now knew who this was – it was Remus. She unconsciously felt someone's hands on her face, gently stroking her skin. She liked that. It was soothing. The hands were removed from her face. She opened her eyes.

Remus was sitting at the foot of the bed, looking at his hands. He was turning them over and over. She heard him muttering, "I cannot believe I did this to her. I am a monster. How could I do something like this? I am a monster."

She smiled weakly and whispered, "You're not a monster."

His head snapped to her. A smile lit up on her face as he cried, "Oh, my God, Lina, you're alive!"

Remus reached forward and kissed her forehead softly. She liked that, too. She sat up. Her sheets fell of her chest, and she realized that the only thing covering her chest was a bandage. Remus was staring at her, his mouth dropped open. She hastily grabbed the sheets to cover herself. He frowned in disappointment.

"I hurt you badly, didn't I?" he asked.

"It looks deep, but it doesn't hurt that bad," she replied.

That was a complete lie. It burned like hell itself. In her brief moment of exposure, she noticed that the three scratches across her chest had left blood marks on the sheets and on the bandages. But she didn't want him to know that. She wanted to make him feel a little better.

He moved closer to her. She was gnawing at her lower lip. The lull in the conversation concerned her. She realized that he felt bad about what had happened. And honestly, she didn't remember every little detail of what had happened. She didn't want to bring it up and dampen his spirits, but that she wanted to know. She was sick of being clueless.

"What happened back there?" she asked, so suddenly it made him jump.

Remus sighed and looked at the stone floor. He quietly said, "Don't go telling people this, alright? If anyone asks, you were attacked by a hippogriff in the woods. That's what Sirius and James told the nurse. They said that you were out walking with them when it happened. James had been flying, and you guys were watching, an on the way back, a hippogriff came out of nowhere and scratched you. No offense to them, but I don't know how the faculty could believe that story . . . but anyways, you've got to stick to that, alright? No telling people you were attacked by a vicious monster who lives in a shack?"

Lina smiled and nodded. She had to admit, the prospect of being attacked by a hippogriff – a giant, half-horse, half-eagle monster – was kind of funny.

"Anyways, you know what I am now, don't you?" he asked. She nodded again. She didn't want to say it, for fear of the nurse hearing.

"What you have to understand, Leen, is that when I'm in my other form, I don't recognize normal people that I normally would know. I could kill my best friend if I wasn't careful. So when I saw you, to me, you were just like raw meat, waiting to be torn to bits," Remus explained.

"Well, why is it you went after me, but not after the stag or the dog, or even the rat? They were probably much easier targets," Lina queried.

"Because I recognized them. Every time I've changed, for two years now, they've come with me to keep me company. When I'm in my other form, I recognize them as friends and don't attack them. But anything or anyone else is fair game. I almost even attacked Dumbledore once, but he got out before I got the chance to lunge at him. I couldn't look him in the eye for weeks."

Lina shuddered at the thought of Remus attacking her father. It was a horrible idea. But he couldn't know that Dumbledore was her father.

In that moment, she felt a pang of guilt. Her secret was nothing compared to Remus'. She was only an elf – not dangerous at all. And so what if her father was the Headmaster? Remus had trusted her enough to tell her his deepest, darkest secret, something he would not tell anyone under pain of death unless he trusted them as much as he did her. As for her secret, she didn't know how far she would go to defend it, but not that far – after all, she wasn't dangerous at all. Shouldn't she be able to tell him something like this, when he had put so much trust in her?

She opened her mouth and closed it again repeatedly. She tried to say something, to tell him what she had kept from most of the world for so long. But even as she tried to speak, no sounds came from her mouth.

"Is something wrong?" Remus asked. "You look like you lost your voice or something."

She finally found her voice. Unfortunately, all that came out was, "I'm fine."

He smiled and leaned forward, planting a searing kiss on her lips. She loved him so much – and she knew it was the same both ways. But if she loved him so much, how come she couldn't say what she wanted to say? How come she couldn't just come out with it?

Maybe that was how it was with him. He did not want to tell her, so instead, he showed her. Only problem was that it didn't work the way he had expected, and she ended up hurt badly. She knew nothing like that would happen if she spilled the beans. Then how come she didn't just pull back her hair and show him her ear? Maybe he would love it, and tell her that pointy ears are sexy. Maybe he would be too shocked to say anything, but then regain his voice and tell her he didn't mind. Maybe nothing would happen, and it would have no affect on him whatsoever. Still, she couldn't do it.

"Do you understand why I attacked you? Do you get that it wasn't me who attacked you, it was a monster? Do you understand why I'm afraid of the topic in Defense Against the Dark Arts? Do you recognize why I'm afraid of myself?" he asked. She saw a pleading in his eyes. This was painful for him. She knew it. She also knew that he thought he was a horrible person and should be thrown into prison for what he'd done. She knew he'd rather die than do it again. And she knew that she had to do something to change that.

"No one should be afraid of who they really are," she said simply, with a hint of a smile.

He smiled back and hugged her close. She melted into his embrace. She knew that even though he was a wolf, he was not a monster. He could change. He would change.

"I've got to go now," he said somberly. "Madam Pomfrey will probably flip if she sees me hugging you, or even touching you at all, considering what you're wearing . . ."

She forgot about the fact that she was topless. She grabbed for the sheets again. Remus laughed.

"It's alright, I don't mind. I hope you feel better, and I'll be back to visit you. I promise."

He kissed her on the cheek and turned to leave. She laid her head back on to the pillow. She was just about to nod off again when she heard him call for her.

"Lina?" he said.

"Yes?"

He shrugged, frowning. "I really am sorry."

Her heart went out to him. She felt so horrible for him at that moment. But despite her dire feelings, she smiled and replied, "It's alright, I promise."

He returned the grin and walked out of the Hospital Wing, shutting the door behind him.

Lina let herself sink into the pillow. It was so comfortable. She wanted to let all of her troubles leave her and just rest peacefully – no dreams of being chased by wolves, no dreams of Remus attacking her, no more nightmares.

Just before she closed her eyes, she remembered what she had said to him.

"_No one should be afraid of who they really are."_

Yeah. No one should be afraid, including her. She was just having trouble grasping that concept.

She couldn't take it anymore. Her eyelids were too heavy. She closed her eyes and surrendered to the darkness, drifting off into dreamland.


	11. Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters . . . well, except Lina.

**Eleven**

Lina found it hard to wake up the next morning. She still felt the stabbing pain in her chest, but it had lessened. She had been re-bandaged, she noticed, because there was no longer blood on the bandages. Light flooded her eyes, blinding her temporarily until she could get used to it. As she put a hand over her eyes to shade them, she saw Madam Pomfrey come bustling in.

"Hello, dear. I'm glad you came around. I suppose you'd like to bathe after staying in the same bed for two days in a row?"

"That would be good, thanks," Lina said, sitting up. Her muscles ached from not having moved in about twenty hours.

"You may have trouble walking for a bit, since you're not stretched out or anything," Madam Pomfrey said, helping her out of bed. She was handed a bathrobe, which she wrapped around herself and tied in a tight knot.

"The showers are over to your left, dear. Take your time," she said.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Lina replied. She walked over to the shower and began bathing herself.

She let the water run gently over her body, warming her for the first time since Remus had visited more than half a day ago. She had been lost in a dream, cold with sweat, being chased by a wolf. It was running after her, stalking her, in the Dark Forest. She tried to escape, but it was too fast. It kept catching up to her. And every time she thought she had lost it, it came back from some dark corner in the woods.

As she stood there, bathing herself, she shuddered to think that the wolf had been Remus.

She turned off the shower and wrapped the towel around herself. It was then that she realized that she didn't have any clean clothes. She put the bathrobe back on, wrapped her hair up in a towel, and called for Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes?"

"Um, I don't have any clothes," Lina said quietly.

"Oh, I have some here for you, dear," Madam Pomfrey said, handing her a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and all of her underwear.

It was a relief to get back into clean clothes again, her hair grease-free and fruity smelling. She felt relaxed and renewed, and was ready to back and face the solemn-faced Marauders.

"Do you feel well enough to go back to your classes?" the nurse asked.

"I suppose so," Lina responded.

"Alright, then. Remember to change your bandage every so often so it doesn't get the scratch infected. I tried the best I could to heal it, but I'm afraid only naturalism can heal it now. It certainly didn't look like a hippogriff scratch, but I may be wrong."

"Must be," Lina said quickly. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

"You're welcome, dear. Feel better!"

Lina continued down the corridor, her heart pounding. That was _way_ too close for comfort. There was no way in hell that it was a Hippogriff scratch, but she couldn't know that. In fact, the rest of the school couldn't know that, either, especially her father.

As she arrived in the Gryffindor Common Room, she was greeted by a huge blur coming and knocking her backwards in a hug.

"Oh my God, Leen, I thought you were dead! What did you _do_? What happened? Why did the Hippogriff attack you? Oh my God, I'm so glad you're alright! I don't know what I'd do if I lost you! I'd be stuck with all these stupid guys again!" Lily screamed as she squeezed all the air out of Lina.

"Lil, hun, could you get off please? You're suffocating me," she said.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" she cried, and jumped right off her.

Sirius walked up to her and said, "Yeah, I'm glad you're alright, too."

Lina grinned and said, "Thanks for . . . you know, jumping into the path of danger for me."

There was a silence, and then Sirius said, "You know that he – I mean, the Hippogriff – didn't mean too, right?"

"Yeah, of course, it's all been explained," she replied quietly.

James came up from behind Lily and put his hand on her shoulder, followed closely by Peter, who was shivering.

"That was so scary . . ." he murmured. Lina couldn't help but feel bad for the poor kid – always afraid of everything, and his only friends weren't really his friends.

"Yeah, it was . . . but I'm glad you're alright, Leen," James added.

"Me, too," Lina said quietly. "Where's Remus?"

"Moping, in his dormitory. He feels horrible about what happened."

"Thanks, guys," she said before turning to leave. Before she did, however, she went over to James and asked in a hushed tone, "Does Lily know?"

"Yeah. We told her last night, after we got back. She was one of the first to know about Remus' . . . you know . . . so she understands," he replied.

"Alright. Thanks."

Lina walked up the winding staircase to where the boys' dormitory was. She knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," a solemn voice called. She did as she was told.

"Hey, Remus," she murmured.

He looked to the doorway and saw her standing there, her hair still wet from her shower, seeing as she didn't have the energy to dry it. His face lit up and he ran to herm throwing his arms around her in a huge hug.

"Please don't suffocate me, Lily's already attempted that today," she laughed.

"Oh, sorry," he said quickly, letting go of her. "Seriously, you were so weak the other day that I thought . . . I thought I had . . . ."

"You didn't kill me, Remus. Here I am, standing in front of you, as real as anything. Trust me, I'm not dead."

"But what's so terrifying is the fact that I could have. If it hadn't been for Sirius, then you would be gone! You'd no longer be real, you'd have faded into the darkest night, and I would have awoken to find your body on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, covered in blood, and my claw marks as proof of your dreadful death. I couldn't stand that, Celina. Don't you understand how miserable I am? How horrified I am? How frightened I am of myself? I'm living one giant, murderous lie."

Lina sighed and said, "Remus, it's not your fault. I mean, you were taken over by a wolf, and you couldn't remember who anyone was! You can't keep blaming yourself! It's not like you could have changed what happened."

Nevertheless, Remus trudged back over to the bed on which he had been sitting, sat back down and hung his head. Lina walked over to him and knelt so that they were at eye level. She put her hand beneath his chin and forced him to look up at her.

"I don't blame you for what happened. And I will never hold it against you."

He tried to look away from her, but she kissed him instead. He kissed her back, but very softly. It was as though he was afraid just kissing her would make her hurt.

After it was over, he looked at her and said, "I appreciate that you're trying to make me feel better, but only time can heal me know, just as only time can heal you. I just need to be alone."

"Alright. I'll leave then."

She turned around and walked out of the room, her eyes still following him as he glided over to the window and stared out it with and empty stare like nothing in the world mattered anymore.


	12. Prank

Twelve

The Marauders barely saw Remus the rest of the day. Since it was a Saturday, they had no classes. They figured that he was sitting in the Dormitories, moping, which he was. He didn't even come down for mealtimes.

"Just as well," said James gloomily. "He wouldn't've talked to anyone anyways."

"Still, don't you wish there was something we could do?" asked Lily.

"There's nothing we can do. Believe me, I tried," Lina said.

Once the week started and he had to go to classes again, the Marauders tried to get him to talk, but they only got a one or two word answer. He never answered questions in class, which was what he was known to do quite often, and he didn't even flinch when Professor Martin mentioned that they would begin studying werewolves soon.

Worse, Snape seemed to notice something was wrong. He kept trying to pry into their business, and was extremely curious about how Lina had gotten her scratch. Perhaps it was just because of the location of the scratch, but she had the sense that that was not the only reason he stared.

"That does _not_ look like a Hippogriff scratch," he commented randomly one day.

Lina crossed her arms over her chest and said coldly, "Why were you looking?"

"Hippogriffs have thicker talons," he continued, ignoring the other comment completely.

"And I don't suppose you'd know what kind of a scratch it really was?" she sneered.

Snape smirked and threw a glance at Remus. "It looks like a wolf's scratch."

Lina tried to look clueless, but her facial expression must have given it away. She resolved that from that day on, until the stupid scratch wasn't visible anymore, she'd wear tops that were a little less low-cut.

After class, Lina ran to catch up with Remus, who had practically run out the door.

"Remus," she panted, "could – I – talk to you – for a – sec?"

"I suppose so," Remus said. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into an empty classroom.

"_Vocalo Proofiero," _she muttered. "Alright. I have a question. Does Snape know about the whole . . . you know . . . wolf thing?"

"Gee, you think?" he replied sarcastically.

"No, Remus, I'm completely serious. How did he find out?" Lina pressed on.

Remus sighed and explained, "You know how we all hate him, right? Well, Snape's especially jealous of James, and so James and Sirius decided to play a joke on him just get him into trouble, and maybe even get him hurt."

Lina pressed her lips together in a thin line. "What did they do?"

"Well, Snape had gotten curious, since he had noticed that every month, I would be absent from classes for a few days or so. So James and Sirius told him to go near the Whomping Willow – you know, that big tree that guards the entrance to the Shrieking Shack – and press the knot to get in. They said that if he did that, he'd find out.

"Of course, being the gullible loser he is, he believed them. So when he pressed the knot, he followed the passageway to the Shrieking Shack. If James hadn't come to stop him, he would have met up with me, and we probably wouldn't have to deal with him anymore."

Lina's eyes were wide in surprise. How could James and Sirius do something so low?

"Naturally, he figured out what was going on. Now, he doesn't tell anyone about it, but he holds it over my head. Every time he wants something, he'll threaten to tell if I don't. And knowing Snape, he probably would tell."

Lina was still trying to comprehend what he had said earlier. "They really did that? Didn't they realize he could have been killed?!"

"They were too blinded by their hatred for him, and only saw the fun in scaring him. I couldn't believe it when they told me, either. Of course, I hadn't known what was going on, since I was in my . . . other form."

She couldn't believe it. How low could they get? She hated Snape herself, but she didn't want to kill him. Even if she had been given the knife and the permission to do so, she wouldn't harm him. How come they couldn't take such a thing seriously?

Without saying another word, she pulled open the door and stormed out. She was so angry at them. She didn't even know why, really, but she was.

For one thing, they had almost killed Snape. Even though sometimes she wanted to see him dead, she didn't think she _really_ would have been too happy to find out that her friends were murderers.

For another thing, they had taken huge advantage of Remus, without him even knowing. It was one thing for him to know when someone was coming, but not to warn him and just let Snape come in, completely unsuspecting?

The whole rest of the day, she hid in the Dormitory and did her homework. She couldn't be in the same room as two of her best friends, whom she had just found out were almost murderers. Not only was she angered, but she was a little afraid.

"Lina, what is up with you?" James asked her the next day at breakfast. She had ignored him completely the whole day, still trying to process everything she had learned.

"Calm down, mate. She just heard about what you guys did to Snape," Remus said quietly.

"Oh, yeah, man, that was awesome," Sirius said, grinning. They high-fived each other. Lina was enraged.

"How could you find that funny? You almost killed the guy, and you're laughing! Do you guys realize that if you had gone through with your entire plan, you would have been in Azkaban for manslaughter?" she hissed, trying as hard as she could to keep her voice down. She was finding it quite hard.

"Manslaughter? What are you talking about, Leen?" James asked. Sirius was staring at her funny, one eyebrow raised; Remus had his hands on her shoulders and was trying to calm her down; Lily and Peter were just gawking at her.

"Manslaughter. You sent him in there to meet up with Remus, who would have killed him like that!" she cried, snapping her fingers. "And not only that, but Remus would be exposed for who he really was and would probably be jailed as well, maybe even killed because they thought he was too dangerous!"

"I . . . I never thought . . ." Sirius trailed off.

"Obviously not!" Lina shouted, and sat back down, her deed done. At that last sentence, everyone in the Great Hall had turned to stare at her. She quickly scanned the room and made a face at them. Needless to say, they all stopped staring.

Remus turned to her and said, "Lina, calm down, it's all in the past. Snape's fine, and I don't care. I mean, I do, but that's not the point –"

"Remus, my friend, you are very bad at trying to calm people down," Peter piped up.

"You know what, though?" James added. "She's right. That's why I stopped it in the fist place. She has every right to be mad at us, even if it is Snape."

"We're sorry we did it, and even though it was kind of funny to begin with, you're right. The outcome would not have been pretty," said Sirius.

All of a sudden, Lina felt really stupid. She had way overreacted. Obviously, Lily, Peter, and Remus had not reacted so violently. She wanted to turn invisible.

"And yes, we all had the same reaction. I was the most spastic of all of them, so don't feel bad," Remus said. She realized that by accident, she had transmitted her thoughts to him.

He leaned over and softly kissed her. She liked it. A lot.

"Don't feel so bad," he repeated.

"I don't," Lina admitted. "At least, not anymore."


	13. No One to Hear Her

**Disclaimer:**I don't own any of the characters her (besides Celina), nor the setting. The story itself, however, is mine. So DON'T STEAL IT, or I'll send my band of rabid dogs out to get you!

Thirteen

"Mister Lupin, may I have a word with you quickly before you go off to bed?" Dumbledore asked, gliding over towards Remus, who sat frozen in his chair.

"Of course, sir," he replied.

Dumbledore looked to Lina and said, "Oh, hello, Celina. Would you mind if I had a private word with Mr. Lupin for a moment?" Lina gave him a defying look, but he gave her a more defying look back. She groaned and turned on her heel, walking towards the doors leading into the Entrance Hall.

"Urgh, I want to hear what he's saying!" she grumbled. She felt someone elbow her in the ribs. She turned and saw James, who looked down to show the silvery piece of cloth he had hidden under his robes. It was the Invisibility Cloak.

Lina grabbed the Cloak and ducked behind a table. She threw it over herself and emerged from behind the table to hear what they were discussing.

"Now that everyone's gone, Remus, I just wanted to tell you that I have some good news," her father said quietly.

"Yes, sir?"

A smile brightened Dumbledore's already twinkling eyes. "We have found a solution to your little problem."

Remus' mouth dropped as he said, "You mean it? They discovered a cure?"

"Well, not a cure, exactly, but a potion. You drink the potion once a month, right before you're about to . . . change. The potion won't prevent you from changing, so you'll still have to sneak out, but it will make you tame, so that you do not have to worry about hurting anyone," Dumbledore explained.

Remus' eyes lit up as he ran his hands through his hair, completely disbelieving that such a thing could be true.

"You mean it, sir? This is awesome! I mean . . . I mean . . . wait, who will brew the potion for me?" he asked.

"Well, Mr. Severus Snape will be brewing it for you."

Once again, Remus' mouth dropped open, but this time in horror. He shook his head, however, and said, "This is amazing, sir, you don't know how thankful I am."

"It's no trouble, Remus. I'm glad you're so happy," Dumbledore said.

Remus gave him one last smile, then turned and ran down the center of the tables. Lina reached out and grabbed his pants, pulling him down next to her. He screamed, "Ow!", but she covered his mouth.

"Remus, are you alright?"

Lina stealthily took off the cloak to reveal only her head. His eyes widened. She covered herself again and helped him up.

"Yes, I'm alright, sir, I just tripped."

"Be careful."

"I will, sir, thank you!"

Lina crept along, next to him, and was careful not to make a sound until after he had shut the door to the Great Hall tightly behind him. She ripped off the cloak and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Oh my God, Remus, I can't believe it! You're so lucky!" she cried.

"I know, I know. That was so unbelievably nice of Dumbledore to do so," he replied. "Maybe it was an early Christmas present."

Lina suddenly stopped hugging him and broke away.

"_Snape_ will be making your potion? Is he crazy? Doesn't he know that you guys hate each other?" she exclaimed.

"Even if he did, he must trust him a hell of a lot. That's probably a big honor, you know, for him to be able to make it. Dumbledore puts trust in him – I, for one, do not."

"We'll just have to go with the flow, I guess," Lina said.

The next couple of days were incredibly hectic for Lina. She was trying to get her last minute Christmas shopping done – a chess set for James, some fudge from Honeyduke's for Lily, a broomstick for Peter, an Owl Care Kit for Sirius, and for Remus she bought a huge bag of sugar, on which she wrote, "You satisfy my sweet tooth."

Christmas came and went (everyone was very satisfied with their presents, even Remus, whose present Lina had thought was a little cheesy), and soon it was the beginning of a new year. And with that new year came a new month, and with the new month came a full moon.

Remus and Lina prepared a plan to get her in to the Shrieking Shack. They would, once again, use the Invisibility cloak, and sneak her in under there while Madam Pomfrey brought Remus in the same direction. Remus would have already taken the potion before he left, but since it was a new potion, they were not sure if it would work. Their plan was that Lina would keep the cloak on until she had determined whether or not Remus was violent. If he was, then she would sneak out the exit, still covered with the cloak. If not, she would take off the cloak, revealing herself to him, and therefore begin the process of introducing herself to Remus in the wolf form.

The day came. They were both nervous – almost too nervous to speak to anyone, let alone each other.

"Are you sure this is safe, mate?" James asked him that afternoon in the Common Room.

"Yeah, I mean, it is Snape who's brewing the potion, after all," Sirius added.

Remus said, "Snape wouldn't dare do anything that would hurt me. Dumbledore would know who did it."

"True, but the potion might not work. What about Lina, then? What if she can't get away in time?" Peter asked, a worried expression on his face.

"I'll be fine, Peter. Don't worry about it," Lina insisted. "I promise, I know what I'm doing, guys."

"She'll be careful. She knows what I can do to her, and she is completely informed as to what to do if anything bad happens."

Around five o'clock that evening, Remus made his annual trip to Dumbledore's office, with Lina hidden under the cloak beside him. But this time, the trip would be a bit longer.

"Here you go, Remus," Dumbledore murmured, handing Remus a steaming goblet with a bluish liquid inside.

"Are you sure this is safe, sir?" Remus asked timidly, looking at the fluid he was about to drink.

"Perfectly safe, Remus, don't worry. It has been tested on a few certified werewolves. There are a couple side-affects – you may be feeling under the weather a bit longer than usual, but you will be rest assure that you will not hurt anyone if you escape," Dumbledore answered confidently.

"Alright . . . . here goes nothing," he muttered. He placed the goblet to his lips, his hand trembling with fear, and tilted his head back. Lina watched from under the cloak as he drunk the rest of the potion. He wiped his mouth and waited.

"I feel exactly the same," Remus said quietly.

"Of course you do! You're not in your other form yet," Dumbledore replied.

Remus said, "Well, how will I know if it's worked or not?"

"You will be able to remember certain things in your past. You won't recognize people or where you are, but you will be able to look back on things in your mind and remember when you did them as a human. Also, you will no longer have any urges to attack anything that moves," he responded simply. _Author's Note: Bear with me, guys, I know the potion doesn't really do this, but for the purposes of the story, it does, alright?_

"Thank you so much, sir, I don't know how I'll be able to repay you."

"It's nothing, Remus. You must hurry, though – you know the way. You do not want anyone to see you changing."

"Thank you, sir."

Remus turned and pretty much ran out of his office. As he sprinted down the corridors, Lina panted, "Remus – why – are – we – running?"

"You heard what Dumbledore said," he hissed, "I don't want anyone to see me changing!"Lina followed him outside to the grounds and to the passageway. He made the tree stop moving (_"Imobulis!"_) and together,they climbed in to the passage.

Asthey sped along the corridor,Lina could only pray that the potion would work. Because this time, no one was there to save her. No stag would jump out of the shadows, thrusther on to its back, and carryher off into the night. No black dog would fly from besideher and lock jaws with the wolf that was Remus, praying thatshe would get away. No rat would hearher terrified screams.She was all alone.


	14. The Heart Inside

Fourteen

"Are you sure you're alright with being here with me?" Remus asked as Lina took off the Invisibility Cloak. "After all, I'm still not sure if this will work."

"Of course, Remus, don't be silly," Lina lied, avoiding his gaze. She didn't like lying to Remus. She had truly never been more afraid in her life, but no one else needed to know that.

A ray of moonlight shone through a crooked window on the wall. Lina's heart skipped a beat.

"Here goes nothing," Remus said quickly. "Remember, Lina, I love you. And if I come towards you, run away. Fast."

Lina didn't have time to respond before she had to hide her eyes. She didn't want to watch as Remus, her beloved, changed into a horrible beast. She heard his screams, and she tried to cover her ears, but it didn't work. His howl broke through her fingers that were clamped to the sides of her head. Her eyes squeezed shut, so tightly that she thought they would explode. Pictures passed across her mind – a wolf coming after her as she cowered in the corner; a different wolf bounding towards her from a coffin and Remus jumping in front of her to save her; a black dog and a wolf locked in battle; Remus murmuring about monsters. She couldn't take it, she just couldn't she wanted it to end.

And it did.

As suddenly as it had come, it stopped, and the room was silent. She slowly opened her eyes and took her hands off her ears. She turned around and saw . . . the same wolf that she had seen in her visions. Her first reaction was to scream, but she didn't, for she saw that it was just sitting there, staring at her.

The wolf gave a small whimper. Lina cautiously walked towards him, and he didn't move.

"Remus?" she asked. He tilted his head, indicating that he had no idea what she was talking about. However, he didn't attack her, either.

"Do you remember me? It's me. It's Lina, your Lina. Don't you know me?" The wolf just stared back at her, the same vacant expression on its face.

"Oh, Remus, I'm so sorry that this has to happen to you. You have no idea how truly sorry I am. And . . . I wish I could tell you about me, but I just can't. Don't you understand? I can't!" she cried, as though the wolf were arguing with her. It jumped at her severity, but when she reached a hand out towards him, he didn't flinch. She put her hand on his neck and scratched it gently. A look of pure pleasure came over his face.

She sat back down with her legs folded, and she motioned for him to come over and sit with her. He obeyed, and gently leaned his head on her lap. In the process, however, he brushed against the scar on her chest.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, wincing in pain. The wolf looked up at her.

"A constant reminder of what you did," she murmured, smiling slightly. She slowly reached up to her top and pulled it down just enough so that he could see about half of the scratch. He seemed to frown and look to the ground.

"It's alright," she muttered, resuming scratching him. He pawed at her hand, however, and she stopped. He reached out his paw and gently touched where he had scratched her. When he pulled his hand away, he left a small paw print over the scratch, covering up the scar.

Lina looked into the wolf's eyes, and she realized that the wolf was staring at her with the same pleading stare that Remus had given her numerous times before.

It was Remus inside.


	15. Ashes

**Disclaimer: **Yo, yo, yo . . . not mine.**  
**

**Fifteen**

"I can't believe it! She's alive!" Sirius cried as Lina emerged from the portrait hole around two o'clock in the morning.

"Lina, we thought you'd never be coming back!" Lily said, flinging her arms around her. "You had us scared to death!"

"I'm sorry, guys . . . Remus didn't want me to leave."

"What was it like, anyways?" James asked.

Peter, sitting alone in the corner, piped up, "It must have been terrifying."

"Actually, it wasn't. I mean, the whole changing into a wolf thing was quite scary, because I remembered the last time I saw him do that and my heart started racing because I realized that if I was in trouble, no matter how loud I was, no one would hear me scream. But then once I saw him, I realized that he really was Remus, and not a monster that was about to attack me," Lina said.

"Still, I think you're brave," Peter said.

"Me, too . . ." Lily said. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"So am I, but right now, all I want is to go to bed and sleep until I can't sleep anymore," I sighed.

"Alright, Leen, but not to late – remember, we've got class tomorrow," Sirius reminded her. Lina groaned and walked back up to her Dormitory.

There was something different about him when he came back into classes. Usually, just after he had changed, he would have still been extremely weak – almost like you could knock him over with a feather and kill him with a pinprick in his finger. But this time, he looked different. Sure, he was still frail. His face was sunken and he looked very pale. But at the same time, the smile that he wore was real when he saw her. She knew he remembered what had happened. She knew he was still the same person, and he had never been gladder in his life.

"Oh, Lina, I'm so glad you're safe," he said the second he saw her alone.

"So am I . . . I mean, I would use my life to help my friends and everything, but I kind of like it. At least, I do at the moment," Lina said, smiling.

"What was it like, watching me change like that?" Remus asked, a slight quiver in his voice.

"Well, to tell you the truth . . . I don't know. I didn't actually watch. I was too afraid. I didn't want to see you change. I didn't want to see you in pain like that."

Remus smiled and said, "It's not actually all that painful. Well, it usually is, but this time, it wasn't. It must have been the potion. I mean, there was a slight headache – I suppose that came from my mind changing views and everything – but the potion kind of acted as a painkiller in more than one way. For one thing, it stopped the physical pain of changing. For another thing, it stopped the pain of me tearing myself apart when I was alone. And it saved me the pain I would have gone through if I'd hurt you again."

Lina put her hand to her chest. Her scar burned a little bit. She bit her lower lip.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing, it's just my scar."

He looked a little closer and noticed the paw print that had been left on her chest. "I gave that to you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," Lina laughed. "That has more than one use – it covers up that horrible-looking mark, and it serves as a sexy tattoo!"

Remus laughed, too. Lina beamed. "What?" he asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"That's the first time I've heard you laugh in a long time," Lina said quietly. "I've missed it."

He kissed her softly. She realized that she had missed that, too. Suddenly, she got an idea.

"Hey, Remus, how did the Marauders become Animagi?" she asked him.

"Oh, they snuck into the Ministry of Magic one night. Why?" he pursued.

"Because. I have a plan."

A month or two had passed, and now it was February break. The Marauders and Lina had been planning very carefully over the past few weeks, and they were finally ready.

"We're in," Lina whispered as she reached the small elevator that would take them up to the floor on which they needed to be. The grilles slid shut. The Marauders had expertly Apparated within the walls of the Ministry and had gotten through all the turnstiles by having Peter change into his rat form, sneak under it, and then change back. After that, he would let them through by using the controls.

"Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Patents Office."

Lina sighed as the elevator reached each floor – "Level Six, Department of Magical Transport, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparation Test Center . . . Level Five, Department of International Magic Cooperation, incorporating the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magic Office of Law, and the International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats."

Finally, after stopping on every floor, Lina heard a welcoming sound: "Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being, and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office, and Pest Advisory Bureau."

"And the I'm-about-to-become-an-Animagus Office!" Lina whispered excitedly.

"Keep it down! You never know when someone is listening," Sirius said eerily.

"Oh, shut up," Lina joked. The five friends snuck along the thin aisles of offices. Along them were pictures of wild beasts that had been reported to be roaming the country. One of these was an Opal-Eye Dragon – not the wildest of creatures, but could potentially be dangerous. Another was a Lethifold, a creature that resembled a slithering black cloak. It would wrap itself around the victim and suffocate him, preferably when he was sleeping. Others included wild hippogriffs, particularly menacing groups of trolls, and a few Centaurs.

"Here we are . . ." James whispered. "Ah, it seems like yesterday we were here becoming Animagi ourselves."

"I know, mate," Sirius replied. "Now, it's time to initiate Lina as an official Marauder."

Slowly, the opened the door so as not to make a sound. Inside, there were shelves and shelves filled with large bowls that glistened in different colors, some magenta, others brown or silver or blue or green or other colors. Also, there was a list with a few names on it – only five. None of which were _James Potter, Sirius Black, _or _Peter Pettigrew_.

"So these are the people that are registered, huh?" Lina asked, amazed.

"Yep. Notice how none of our names are on there," James said.

Lina smiled. "I know. You guys sure seem to like breaking the rules."

"Part of the initiation process is to break a few rules. And therefore, Miss Peterson, you are more than eligible," Remus said quietly.

"How so?"

"Well, to be precise, you've snuck out on numerous occasions with Remus for dates, followed him to the Shrieking Shack where he changed into a werewolf, used the Invisibility Cloak to sneak around the school and back into the Shack, broken into the Ministry of Magic, and are now about to become an unregistered Animagus. I think you've broken a fair few rules," Peter stated.

"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose you're right," she murmured.

"Now, what animal are you planning on becoming?" Sirius asked, his eyes scanning every bowl on the shelf. One nearby let out a popping noise and a cloud of dust appeared next to his ear, making him jump in surprise.

"I have an idea – I just want to see if they have it," Lina said. She, too, began scanning the shelves for a certain name. She thought she saw it, but she couldn't quite make it out.

"Remus, could you lift me up for a second?" she asked him. He willingly wove his fingers into a step for her, and she stepped on it, making him almost topple over. He had just recently recovered from his monthly change, so was still fairly weak.

"You alright?" Lina asked as the Marauders ran to help their friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just keep looking," Remus said, despite his purpling face.

Celina searched the shelves anxiously, looking for the bowl she had spotted before. She had been right. She picked up the bowl labeled _Phoenix _with both hands as Remus brought her down.

"You sure you're alright?" she said as Remus collapsed on to a nearby chair.

"Of course, Leen, I'm good. Which one did you pick?"

"See for yourself."

Remus looked up at the shelves, only to look back down at her, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"The phoenix. Good choice, Leen," he said.

Lina looked into the bowl. There was a large pile of what looked like a fine dust within it. The dust was bright red in color with flecks of gold. She ran it through her fingers like it was sand.

"Hey, Sirius, how are we supposed to make this work?" she asked, still playing with the dust.

"You have to eat some of it," he said.

"What? I am _not_ eating a pile of dust!"

"Actually, it tastes more like sugar," James said.

"Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Sure. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just eat it."

Lina looked disgustedly at the dust in the bowl. She searched the room and found a small silver spoon. She picked up the spoon, scooped up some of the dust, and poured it down her throat.

James had been right – the dust did taste like sugar. It gave her an odd tingling sensation, as though someone were tickling her legs.

"This feel funny," she murmured. She looked around at the Marauders, only to find that their faces were completely horror-stricken.

"Guys, what's going on?" she said, but all that came out was a small bird-like sound. She looked at her feet and saw that she was being tickled – by flames.

"_Hey, what's going on?"_ she asked, directing her thoughts towards Remus.

"_I don't know, Lina! Are you okay?"_

"_I feel fine, except for the whole burning thing. I mean, it doesn't hurt or anything –" _

"_Now you're only a pile of ashes."_

"_Really?"_

"_And now . . . hey, look, there's a bird popping out of there! That must be you!"_

Sure enough, Lina looked down and saw that her arms had become wings with feathers of a brilliant red, like the color of the dust. The tips of her wings had gold feathers.

"She's . . . she really is a phoenix," Peter whispered. He put his wand to her head, and she felt herself growing larger. This time, when she looked back at herself, she had skin and hair and was back to being Lina again.

"You just burned and then were reborn from the ashes. That was weird," James said, staring at her as though she had just grown an extra head.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked, running to her.

She brushed some of the ash off her robes and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm back to being Lina."

Sirius, however, was just smiling at her. "You're not just Lina anymore," he said. "You are now going to be known as Ashes. Welcome to the Marauders."

_**Author's Note**: Yeah um I just kind of made up the entire thing about becoming an Animagus and how it works. I hope everyone's okay with that . . . .  
_


	16. Ithilwen

**Disclaimer: **Read my profile thingymerbob.

Sixteen

When the Marauders got back from their journey, it was two days into February break. Everyone had wondered where they went, but no one bothered to ask. Considering the people that had gone – James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lina – they probably had some crazy, dangerous explanation that no one really cared to hear.

It wasn't too long – a little while into March – before Lina was summoned to Professor Dumbledore's Office.

". . . And that is the charm we use to repel a Red Cap," Professor Martin said just as a knock echoed on the door. "Come in," he called, and Professor McGonagall entered.

"Hello, Professor Martin, may I have Miss Peterson for a moment, please?" she asked.

"Yes, of course. Off you go, Celina," he said dismissively. Lina stood up and walked slowly over to Professor McGonagall, whose lips were pursed. She could tell something was wrong. After she was outside the classroom, Professor McGonagall grabbed her arm and began dragging her towards what she remembered was her old room. She knew this had something to do with her father. She never went in there unless it was incredibly secret.

"Professor, what's going on here?" she asked timidly.

"You will find out soon enough, Miss _Dumbledore_ – just follow me," she replied, emphasizing the "Dumbledore" part. Celina knew that Professor McGonagall disapproved of the fact that she hid her real last name, even though that technically wasn't even her real last name.

Little did she know, she was about to find out what her real last name was.

She got to the portrait of Rosalie that guarded her room. Rosalie had a solemn expression on her face as Lina approached.

"Rosalie, what's wrong?" Lina asked, concern in her voice.

"Oh, Lina . . ." she murmured. The question was left unanswered, but not for long, as Lina entered the room to find Professor Dumbledore, her adoptive father, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Celina, my dear," he said quietly. He walked over to her and hugged her. She didn't know why, but there was no longer the same sparkle in his eyes.

She pulled away from him gently and asked sternly, "Dad, what's going on?"

Her father sighed and pulled a folded piece of paper with a wax seal on it from his pocket. "This came for you today," he said in barely more than a whisper.

Lina took the paper and turned it over a couple of times in her hands before opening it. Inside, the letter was written in strange symbols she had never seen before. They were beautiful and ornate, but so intricate as it would take years to learn what they all meant. And yet somehow, the words rolled off her tongue as though she had spoken the language her whole life.

_Ithilwen, meleth nin,_

_I know this will be hard for you to understand, but you were not born into this family with which you live. The person who claims to be your father is not your father. And though I know you already knew that, I am here to tell you that you can no longer live with him._

_Yes, you've spent your whole life with him. Yes, you love him like a father. But I am your true father, and now it is time to come back to me._

_My name is Onónion, and I am your true father. And though there is no easy way to say this, you must come back to our world and live with the Elves. When you were born, you were bound to serve the King of the Elves, Lord Elrond once you became of age. Your 4310th birthday was the age we decided upon, and now it is time for you to come back. We even gave you three years time to say goodbye. Now, you must say goodbye for real._

_I will be there in March to pick you up. Until then, meleth nin, no in elenath hîlar nan hâd gîn._

_Your Father_

"My goodness, Albus, what could that mean?" Professor McGonagall said once Lina had finished reading. "She just read the entire letter in a different language!"

"Elvish . . ." her father – or rather, used-to-be father – whispered.

"It says that I am to go back to my world," Lina gasped. "Dad, I don't want to leave!"

"I'm sorry, my dear, I fear you must," he said quietly.

"What did that last line mean?" Professor McGonagall inquired, completely left in the dark.

"It means, _May all stars shine on your path_," Lina explained. She didn't know how she knew it. But then she figured it must just be her Elven instincts.

"I knew this day would come," Professor Dumbledore said darkly. "I have feared it for many years. And now, my fears have been realized and become reality. I'm sorry, Celina, my dear, but you must go."

Suddenly, a fire blazed to life in her fireplace, and a head appeared within it. It was the face of Professor Martin.

"Headmaster, there is someone here to see you and your . . . daughter," he said, whispering the ast word.

"Thank you, John. Kindly ask him to report here, please."

Before Lina could comprehend everything that was happening, there was a knock on her door. Dumbledore went to open it, and stood in front of the stranger. Once he stepped aside, Lina saw a tall, pale man with long blonde hair. The most prominent feature – the first thing she really noticed about him – were his ears. They were much longer than a normal person's ears, and came to a sharp point at the tip.

"Celina," Professor Dumbledore stated inaudibly, "I would like you to meet your true father, Onónion of Rivendell."


	17. Goodbyes

**Disclaimer: **See my profile

Seventeen

"There must be some misunderstanding. I can't leave. I won't leave. And there's no one on Earth who can make me," Lina said in barely more than a whisper. Onónion, whom she now knew was her father, grinned at her.

"Hello, Celina, my dear. It has been years since I have seen you thousands of years," he said.

"Why did you bring me here, if only to take me back?" Lina asked, her voice trembling as much as her hands.

Her Father sighed and said, "Because we thought you should grow up amongst your kind."

"But you were my kind."

"Not exactly. You are one of the Elves, of course. But you are also a witch. It had never happened before that an Elf was born with the powers that a witch has. We felt it was our duty as parents to let you learn everything you were capable of learning, so we brought you to the orphanage in the Medieval Times. Little did we know that you would be adopted and grow up in this school. We thought you would be an apprentice to another different witch," he explained.

"But your plans went wrong. You cannot take me away from my family, my friends, from R –" She stopped, recalling that her adoptive father was in the room. He was not supposed to know about Remus. "You can't just take me."

"Oh, but I must," Onónion said quietly. "Many, many, many years ago, before you were born, I stood in battle next to Lord Elrond, the King of Rivendell. The battle was vicious and bloody, and I had little experience, for I was younger and this was my first battle. Although I was considered a skilled warrior, I had never actually been in combat against someone who wanted to kill me – only against someone who wanted to teach me how to fight. So when I came face-to-face with one of our enemies, I froze in fear. I was so scared that I could not move.

"My opponent raised his blade to strike me down. I could almost taste the blood. But then I heard the clashing of metal against metal and looked up to see that Lord Elrond had dove in front of me and stopped him with his sword.

"After the battle was through, many were slain, but it had been a victory for us," he went on to clarify. "Both myself and Lord Elrond were extremely weak and tired. But I promised him my service and the service of my family for all generations until death take him or until the debt be repaid in return for him saving my life. He agreed, although rather warily. He did not like the idea of my serving him."

"Then why don't you just leave me here instead of forcing me to go?" Lina cried, tears glittering behind her eyes.

"Because, my child, a promise is a promise, and he is my King. I cannot break a promise to him. I am sorry," he said weakly, although he did not look the least bit sorry.

"But . . . but . . . you cannot let him do this to me, Dad!" she shouted, turning to Dumbledore. She was horrified to watch him step away from her.

"He is right, my dear, there is nothing more I can do. You must go with him," he said reluctantly.

"No! No, you cannot make me!" Lina screamed.

"You have until tonight to say good-bye to all of your friends. I am sorry it was so sudden, but we must go," Onónion said.

Lina looked from Professor McGonagall to her adoptive father to her new, real father. She no longer cared about whether or not the tears would make her look foolish. She let them fall. They spilled down her face, her neck, on to her face. She ran out of the room, absolutely distraught.

How could they expect her to say goodbye to everyone in just a few hours? How could they expect her to leave her friends, the only family she really ever felt like she had? And what about Dumbledore, the only father she had ever truly known?

She arrived at the Common Room and muttered the password.

"My goodness, dear, you look absolutely horrible! Is something wrong?" the Fat Lady asked. She let out a large sob and ran into the Common Room.

Inside, the Marauders and Lily were waiting for her, but she did not want to talk to them. She didn't want to have to explain it to them.

Remus saw her covering her face, mascara leaking from the corners of her eyes. "Lina, are you alright?" he asked. She just covered her face again and cried. His face made her feel worse.

He took her hands and said, "Oh, Leen, it'll all be okay. I'll always be here to comfort you. It's okay."

"No, it's not!" Lina shouted. "You might be here to comfort me, but I can't be here to be comforted!" And she turned and ran up to her bed.

"Lina, what the hell is going on?" she heard him shout back up to her, but she couldn't face him. It just made her heart hurt.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Lina was still crying. She knew she should be saying goodbye, but she didn't want to have to.

"Celina, are you alright?" a voice called to her. She recognized it as Lily's voice.

"No, I'm not," she said inaudibly.

"What's going on?" Lily asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

She turned to face her friend and said, her voice shaking, "I have to leave."

"And go where?"

She sighed. "I . . . I don't really know. But I don't know if I'll ever be coming back."

Lily looked at her, completely awestruck. "You need to find Remus," she said quietly, looking at the clothes Lina had attempted to pack.

"But I can't face him. He wouldn't understand."

"But he knows you wouldn't just leave without an answer or a reason. And you can't leave without saying goodbye to him," Lily said. Lina knew that she was right.

"Come on, he's waiting for you downstairs."

"No," Lina said. "I'll say goodbye to him last. Tell him to wait. I want to say goodbye to everyone else first."

Lily sighed and said, "Alright."

Lina continued to pack until Lily came up and said that the coast was clear. She went downstairs, but not before taking off all of her make-up. She did not want to come downstairs and find that they were all staring at her because her mascara was running.

"Ashes, what's wrong?" James asked, concern growing in his voice.

"Please don't call me that. I can't be a Marauder anymore."

Sirius walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, why not?"

"I have to leave. I don't know where I'm going, or when I'll be back. I may never be back," Lina said so quietly that she thought they mightn't have heard her.

"You're . . . you're leaving?" Peter squeaked. Lina nodded glumly.

"B-but you can't leave! We're not the Marauders without Celina Peterson!" James cried.

"I know, I know!" Lina shouted. "But there's nothing I can do. Believe me, I would much rather stay here. You guys are some of the only people who haven't thought of me as weird, who have accepted me for who I am. I don't want to leave, but I have to."

"Oh, Lina . . ." Sirius murmured. He drew her into a hug. She had never hugged Sirius before, but somehow she felt it would be the last time that she would ever hug him, even if she did come back.

"Good-bye, Lina. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Sirius," she murmured. She turned to Peter. He was sniffling up a storm, and he seemed incredibly jittery. "And I can't forget Peter," she sighed. She went over and hugged him, though gently. Somehow, she felt like he was the one who liked her least. She didn't quite trust him, but he had been a friend nonetheless.

James just stood there, wringing his hands. "Lina, you can't leave!" he said defensively.

"I don't want to, James, I don't. You've got to know that I've done everything I can to stay, but it's just not long enough. Think of it as an early graduation," Lina said.

He ran over to her and hugged her tightly. "I'll never forget what you helped me to realize – that I love Lily. Somehow, I think you've helped me to shape my entire life." She hugged him tightly back, because, like Sirius, she felt that it would be the last time she would hug him, even if she did return to this world someday.

Lastly, she turned to Lily. Lily needed no words. She had been an amazing friend, the one who had helped her realize that she loved Remus so much. She just hugged her tightly as they cried into each other's shoulders.

Once they withdrew, James took Lily's hand. They were all crying, except for Peter, who simply stood there.

"We have to get to class," James stuttered. "We'll miss you, Celina."

"I'll miss you all, too. More than anything," she whispered. She watched them turn away and walk towards the portrait hole. It seemed as though time had slowed almost to a stop, like a movie being played in slow motion. James and Lily looked back at her. She felt a stabbing pain in her heart, and her fears were confirmed. She knew that would be the last time she ever saw them.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Remus came to her just as she was about to leave. She had already said goodbye to her adoptive father, the one who had taken care of her for the past 120 years. Now, it was time to say goodbye to the most important person of all.

"Lina, where are you going with him?" he asked, running up to her.

"I'm going home, to my real home."

"You were _expelled_? What did you do?" he asked incredulously.

Lina laughed, despite the tears that were forming in her tearducts. "No, I wasn't expelled. I have to go home, and I may never see you again."

She turned to look at Onónion, who nodded and walked away, leaving them alone in the dark Corridor. She gently took his hands into hers, not knowing how long it would be before she felt them again.

"I'm not sure of where I'm going, Remus, or what I plan to do there. In fact, there's only one thing I am sure of, and that's that I'm not sure of anything. This life is taking me on a different path than I would have chosen, but right now, I need to leave you.

"But I promise to you, Remus – I swear on my life – that one day, I will come back for you. I may not look the same, and you certainly won't look the same, but I will be the same person inside, with the same immortal flame burning within me."

"Lina, what are you saying?" he asked, the one to cry this time.

She leaned forward and kissed him softly. It was long and deep and passionate, and she took in as much of it as she could. She tried to pretend that they would be able to kiss again sometime soon, but her longing inside took over and she knew in her heart that she may not ever be able to kiss him again, even when she did come back for him. For he might not believe it was her.

"I'm saying good-bye, Remus," she whispered. "Until we meet again, always remember – I love you, Remus."

She turned away from him, her heart pounding against her ribs. She did not want to leave him. She did not understand why she was or where she was going. She just knew she had to leave. She followed Onónion, who beckoned with a long finger, as she listened to him calling her:

"Lina! Celina, wait!" But she could not turn back.

The last thing she heard him say was, "Celina Artemis Peterson, I love you, too!" before she turned the corner. And she couldn't help but think, _That's not my real name_.


	18. Memories

**Disclaimer: **Read my profile

Eighteen

So many memories filled up inside her came spilling out the second she walked into her bedroom. It was one of those moments when you understand how much you appreciate what you have, but then realize that it's gone.

Every time he ever called her beautiful, every time he stroked her skin, every time he kissed her tenderly on the mouth and wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight, promising silently to never let her go. He had kept his end of the promise. What had happened to her?

She fell on the bed and cried. It was the most she could do.

-

Lina knew her father meant well, but he didn't seem to care as much as he said. It was as if duty was all that mattered to him, duty to his King. She respected that, but she also had another duty – one to her heart. That duty was the most important of all, but he didn't seem to understand.

"But Father, I love him! Haven't you ever loved someone so much that when you were apart, your heart hurt? Haven't you ever loved someone so much that being away from them for ten minutes made it seem like ten years? Haven't you ever wanted to wake up in the morning and feel their face beneath your fingertips, but wake only to find that it was a piece of cotton that was your sheets? Haven't you ever felt like that?" she asked him pleadingly.

Onónion sighed. "I did, Ithilwen. I did. But I no longer think I am capable of that kind of love, nor that kind of understanding."

Lina sat down next to him on the bed. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, it's a long story, but I have a lot of time, so I suppose I can tell you," he said. "It begins and ends with your true mother. Her name was Nátulcien. We met many, many, many years ago, probably four-thousand, eight-hundred something years ago."

"Don't you remember your anniversary?" Lina said.

"Well, after knowing someone for that long, the date starts to disappear out of your mind," he replied. "Besides, we don't have an official anniversary. We never married."

Her mouth dropped open. "You mean, you . . . you screwed her before you were married? And after she had me, you didn't marry?"

He shook his head. "No," he said reluctantly. "I loved her dearly, but we never married."

"Why not?" Lina pursued.

"Because. When we met, we fell instantly in love. She was quite beautiful. In fact, she looked a lot like you. Long, dark hair, deep blue eyes, fair complexion, and obviously, pointy ears. She attracted many other males. You cannot imagine how happy I was once I found out that she loved me the same way."

He stopped there, but Lina wanted to know more. She did not understand yet. But at the same time, she felt something within her. A stirring in her mind, in a way. She looked to Onónion to see if he had any idea what was going on, but he was staring at her intently. She knew in an instant – he was transferring a memory to her. It was a lot like how she could talk to others in her mind, only this time, instead of words, pictures were sent as well.

-

"Onónion!" she heard a voice call through her memory. The younger version of her father turned to face the person who had called him, and his face lit up. He ran to her.

"Oh, Onónion, my love," she whispered as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. "Oh, I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to leave."

"Neither do I," he said, the corners of his lips turning up slightly.

"I suppose that I . . . I was scared and intimidated. I know you would never do anything to hurt me, but so many others had. I guess I just did not want to take the chance. But once I left, I realized . . . I could not live without you in my sight," Nátulcien said softly.

Her father ran his finger down her face and asked, "Are you trying to say that . . . ?"

"Yes, Onónion, I am," she replied, cutting him off. "I love you."

Although it was sweet to watch her parents kiss like that, it was also a little bit disturbing. She laughed quietly to herself, but not before the memory changed. She was now in a room filled with light. Her mother was lying down on a bed, and someone was cleaning a baby that looked as though it had just been born. Lina realized that it was herself. But then she also realized something else – her mother was dying.

"Nátulcien, please do not die. Our time together has been so short. I cannot live without you, _meleth nin_," Onónion whispered.

"Oh, Onónion . . ." her mother rasped, taking a long time to say each word. "I am not that sick. I will get better. Do not fear, Onónion. Everything . . . will be alright."

But by the wry smile that crossed her father's face, she could tell that everything was not going to be alright.

She took a deep breath and, as strongly as she could, uttered the words, "I love you, Onónion. Take care of our child, of my Ithilwen." And then . . . she breathed no more.

Lina didn't want to see anymore. By now she had realized why her father could no longer love anyone the same way. It was all her fault that her mother was dead. All her fault.

-

By the time she had forced herself out of the memory, she looked to her father. It was not often that you saw a man cry, especially one as strong as he was. But even as she stared at him pleadingly, she saw a small tear trickling down his cheek.

Lina couldn't take it. Even though she barely knew who her father was, she could no longer stand to be with him, knowing the pain she had caused him. She knew that even though he pretended to love her, he must have really hated her for it. Perhaps that was why he was so firm about bringing her back to the Elven world – he wanted her to feel the pain of loss that he felt. Nevertheless, she fled from the balcony on which she and her father were standing.


	19. An Unexpected Letter

**Disclaimer:** Read my pf thingy.

Nineteen

The next few years were, like Lina had predicted, horribly sad and unbearable. They were not, however, sad and unbearable in the ways she had thought.

She had known that she would miss her friends, that she would miss Remus, that she would miss her father. But there was no more so a time that she did than the year she turned four thousand, three hundred and twenty-one. It was approximately eight years since she had left Hogwarts, and her heart ached more than ever. It seemed that the longer she stayed away, the more she regretted that she had ever left. She grimaced on that day, her birthday, recalling that Remus would have thought she was turning twenty-five. Almost as much she regretted that she left, she regretted that she had never told him the truth about her and her . . . Special-ness.

"_We all have our Special-nesses, Celina. Some just have more of a Special-ness than others, and you happen to be one of those select few,"_ her father – er, Professor Dumbledore – had said to her many times. Of course we all had our Special-nesses, just most people's Special-nesses weren't weird and odd and abnormal like hers was. That had always been her best defense. Unfortunately, she couldn't use that as a defense anymore. She knew that Remus' Special-ness had been about forty times worse than her own, and he had trusted her enough to tell her. Why, then, couldn't she tell him?

"You have to stop thinking this way, Ithilwen," she had muttered to herself. "It's not doing you any good."

Lina shuttered, realizing that she was beginning to refer to herself as Ithilwen, and was beginning to drop her name she had known all her life – Celina. She didn't like to think of herself that way. It made her feel like she was letting go of her past life, and she didn't want to. She wanted to hold on to what was strong. She didn't really know why she cared so much.

Perhaps it was because if she could let go of her past, so could Remus. And that was the last thing she wanted.

The day of her birthday came, and with it, an unexpected letter.

"Ithilwen, _meleth nin_, this came for you today. I believe it is from one of your friends on Earth," Onónion said to her that day.

"My Earth friends?" she murmured, taking the letter in her hands. She turned it over and over again, feeling the dry parchment beneath her fingers. She looked at the writing on the front. It was written in emerald green ink, in handwriting that was all too familiar to her.

"It's from Professor Dumbledore!" she cried. She drew back defensively, however, realizing that it was another thing she was beginning to let go of that she wanted to hold on to.

Hands trembling, she opened the envelope and found within a short letter, only a couple of sentences long.

_Dear Celina,_

_It is my solemn duty as your father to tell you that last night, the day before your birthday, your friends Lily and James Potter were murdered by Lord Voldemort. Their one-year-old son, Harry, managed to survive, and is now living with his aunt and uncle._

_I wish I did not have to bring you such dire news. I hope all is well in Middle Earth. Say hello to Onónion for me, my daughter. Once again, I am terribly sorry to have to tell you this._

_My love always,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Lina's heart got caught up in her throat. She remembered watching Lily and James walk away from her that day, hand in hand, tears forming behind their eyes. Lina had hoped that that would not be the last time she would see them. She had hoped that perhaps that feeling down in her gut that she never would was wrong.

She hated being right.

"They're . . . they can't be gone," she whispered to herself.

Onónion sat down next to her. "Ithilwen, my daughter, what seems to be the trouble?"

Suddenly, she felt an uncontrollable rage build up inside her like a soda bottle shaken too many times. She stood up to face him and screamed, "If you had just let me stay in the world in which I belong, I could have said goodbye to them one last time!"

In her heart, she knew it wasn't really his fault at all. It was that ass-hole Lord Voldemort guy's fault. But it made her feel better to blame everything on someone. She stormed away from him and into her room, where she flung herself down on the bed and cried.

-

She heard a knock on the door, but she didn't bother to answer. She did not want to have to deal with him right now.

She heard the knock a second time, and again, she did not answer. But he called to her, "Ithilwen, open up, I want to speak with you a moment."

"Well, I don't want to speak with you," she called back into her arms that covered her face.

"Ithilwen, don't make me have to use my magic!" he murmured.

Lina was used to this. He had been forced to use his magic to open the door many times now. She had simply put a charm on the door to stop it from opening, and so it had been a lovely little battle of survival of the fittest. This time, though, she didn't even bother. She was too weak. Without her resistance, he fell into the room, expecting her to use her magic against his. It almost made her laugh, but right now, she was not in the mood for laughter.

"Ithilwen, what was that little show back there?" he demanded of her harshly. "We still have a few duties to do before we rest!"

"I don't care about bloody duties! He can go stick his duties up his ass!" she shouted. She really meant it, too.

"_Ithilwen!_" her father roared. "You know how important this is to me, that we fulfill our position to Lord Elrond!"

"Well, right now, I think that the death of two of my best friends is a bit more important than a few duties to my so-called _king_. I don't really feel like bringing him any tea at the moment," she snapped. Onónion withdrew slightly. She realized that he'd had no clue why she was so upset.

"Oh, _meleth nin, _I am so sorry," he whispered, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"No, you're not. You care more about fulfilling your quote-on-quote 'duties' to your king than making your only daughter feel better about the loss of her friends. Hell, you just took me away from my friends and my father without even giving me a chance to say a real goodbye, never mind explain why I was leaving! Now Lily and James will never know the truth about me that they deserved to know!" Lina cried. "You don't give a shit about me and my feelings, so don't try and convince me otherwise!"

Onónion didn't even bother to say anything else, because he knew she was right. He simply stood up and walked away to contemplate the meaning of her words.


	20. Discoveries

**Disclaimer:** Read my pf

Twenty

Sometimes Lina would lie in her bed and just wish that her life weren't as sucky as it was. She knew she sounded like a typical teenager, and she sounded immature and babyish, but her life really did suck at the present time. Two of her best friends, whose wedding she did not get to attend, had just died. She had a lover, but he was in a completely different world. And even though she wanted nothing more than to go after him and live the rest of her life with him, almost everything seemed to be working against her. First of all, her father forbade her from leaving. Second of all, she was bound by an ancient promise made by her father without him thinking about his future and the future of his family at all. And third of all, even if she were brave enough to run away and risk the possibility of being caught by the other Elves and possibly even thrown in front of this Lord Elrond person who is giving all of her orders, she wouldn't know how the hell she could get back to Earth, let alone where the entrance is.

Little did Lina know that through a meeting, she may very well get her entire life back.

Twenty-five years to the day that she had left Remus back at Hogwarts without an explanation to where she was going, she was awaiting the meeting with Lord Elrond. She had been summoned earlier that morning to meet with him, but she had no idea why he would want to see her. As she sat there and awaited her fate, her fingernails steadily growing shorter as she nibbled on them, she examined everything she ever did and wondered which one of them could have put her in this position. What order had she been given that went astray? What had she done wrong?

Besides thoughts of the fact that she could very possibly be in huge trouble within a few minutes, other thoughts were clouding her mind. Onónion (whom she still called by his first name because she couldn't possibly imagine what kind of a father would do this to his only daughter when she had been perfectly happy), had just left for a battle a few days ago. Although the War of the Ring was over many years ago, a few battles were still going on between the men, the Elves, the Dwarves, and the orcs. All the other races had banned together and gone up against the orcs and the Uruk-Hai when they had attacked their kingdoms, in hopes of becoming the feared beasts they were before. Unfortunately for them, they were not feared. In fact, no one feared them, because although they were hostile creatures, they were nothing without the confidence that they had in Sauron before he was destroyed.

Her father had been called by Lord Elrond to fight in one of the battles. The Uruk-Hai and the orcs had attacked one of the Elven cities, and they had called for backup. Since Onónion was once a military general, Lord Elrond had summoned him to command the army. She had not seen him for at least four days. She found that while in Rivendell, she seemed to lose track of time and found it hard to count the days since she had been there.

"Ithilwen," a voice called to her. Her head snapped around to face the person who had spoken. She saw a tall elf with long, blonde hair that reached to below his shoulders and sparkling blue eyes. She knew she had seen him before, around the city. She could never forget a face like that. Despite the fact that he was quite handsome, her heart panged as she remembered Remus.

"Lord Elrond will see you now," he said gently. She gulped and walked through the tall wooden doors that the Elf had gestured towards. She was surprised to find that the room she was in was not particularly large – in fact, she would pretty much call it small. The walls were white on either side of her, but the wall opposite where the throne was on which Lord Elrond sat was not a wall at all, but an arch that lead out to a balcony overlooking the beautiful city.

Seated in the throne was a tall Elf, with dark hair that reached a little beyond his shoulders and was braided behind his ears. He looked stern, but a kindness glittered in his eyes. Somehow, she doubted that she was in there because she was in trouble.

Lina knelt at his feet. "Lord Elrond," she said in barely more than a whisper, her voice quavering with anxiety.

"Please, sit, Ithilwen," he said softly. She obeyed him, but still felt slightly uncomfortable. The blonde haired Elf drew up a chair for her and she sat gingerly.

"You called for me, my Lord?" she asked. She watched as the Elf who had bid her to enter stood by the door and guarded it.

"Yes, Ithilwen, I just wanted to know a few things," he said quietly.

"What sorts of things, my Lord?" she questioned. She felt like she was repeating herself, but she often did that when she was nervous.

Lord Elrond sighed and said, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but I have noticed that you do not seem happy here. When most people arrive in this place, especially if it's their true home, they are in heaven." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I just wanted to know what you had back home that you miss so dearly."

This question completely let Lina off the hook. She started rambling about what she missed.

"What _don't_ I miss?" she asked, more so for herself than for him. "I miss my friends – Sirius, Peter, James and Lily (who were married but are now dead, and I didn't even tell them I was an elf), even Snape. Well, not really Snape, but I still miss the company they kept. I miss my true father, and yes, I consider Albus Dumbledore to be my true father, seeing as he was the closest thing I actually have. And most of all, I miss Remus.

"Oh, God, I'd do anything to see him again. Haven't you ever missed someone so much, it hurt? Haven't you ever looked at someone or something and it reminded you of that one special person who was so far away, and you felt your heart stop in your chest at their memory? Haven't you ever stayed up, late into the night, dreaming of the day you will be reunited with them? Haven't you asked yourself what the point was in living if you knew you may possibly never feel them holding you again? Haven't you ever felt that way? Well, if you haven't, I can tell you, it sucks. And I am feeling that way right now. If I could just see him for . . . for five minutes, just so I could tell him the truth about me, just so I could kiss him softly and tell him I love him, I would do anything in the world, for anyone in the world."

Barely stopping to take a breath, she continued, "I don't see why I have to stay here. You're supposed to be the ruler. You're supposed to do what's in the best interest for your people. Do you think that making your subjects into slaves is what's in their best interest? What about their lives? The people they loved? The things they sacrificed for you? Did you think about that?"

Lina stopped short. She realized that she had just basically told her life story to a man she barely even knew, a man she was supposed to respect. And she had just told him how much she loathed him for everything he had done.

And yet, Lord Elrond was simply sitting in his chair, looking at her with pure interest, as though she were a lab rat being tested on for some sort of medication. She looked to the Elf guarding the door. He looked as though he were completely taken aback, or maybe like he was waiting for his master to lash down on her.

"I find it a little bit funny how you think I've never felt this way," he said quietly, shaking his head. "Of course I've loved someone so much it hurt. And that is why I have called you here today."

Lina looked at him in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"There was no battle, Ithilwen. I made it all up, just so I could get your father away for a few days," Lord Elrond explained calmly.

"You . . . you _what_?" Lina cried.

"I sent him off on a fake mission so I could talk to you without him knowing. I knew from Legolas here that you are having some troubles adjusting to your new lifestyle, and that you were constantly complaining that your father did not understand."

She felt her cheeks turn a deep shade of red. She looked over to where the Elf, Legolas, was standing. He was grinning to himself and looking to the ground.

"So I sent him away and called you here to tell you that you're free to leave."

Lina's mouth dropped open at those last words. "What?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"You can leave. Go. Now. Go back and love and touch and feel and live your life the ay you want it to be lived," he said, a mysterious smile dancing in his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I have been telling your father for millenniums that this whole deal of being my servant is not necessary, but he refuses to listen. He is stubborn as a mule, that Onónion is. He refuses to listen to me. If you want to leave, you may leave. I am not one to keep you from living the life you want to live," he explained.

"You mean it?"

"Yes. Why would I joke about something like this?"

Lina felt like hugging him. "But I don't know how to get there."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Legolas can accompany you."

Legolas was suddenly completely awake. He jumped up and cried, "What?"

"You will accompany her to the portal," Lord Elrond said sternly. Legolas squared his jaw but said nothing.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Pack your things. Your father could be back any day now. We have no time to lose."

This was all going by much too fast for Lina. A million more thoughts were flying through her mind at the moment.

"Come, Ithilwen, I will help you pack," Legolas said reluctantly. He lead her out the door to the throne room, but she was too happy at the moment to notice her surroundings at all.


	21. The Portal

**Disclaimer:** Read my pf.

**Author's Note:** If you did not read the replaced chapter twenty, I made an important change. I had a math calculation error, and it had really been twenty-five years to the day since she had left Hogwarts.

**Twenty-One**

**"W**hy are you putting those on? You've got a long way to go, and if I were you, I wouldn't want to ruin that dress," Legolas commented.

"I can bring it with me though, right?" Lina asked timidly. She still wasn't completely comfortable around this guy.

"Of course. People might think you're weird, though, wearing such a gorgeous dress on a normal, casual day. Trust me, I've been to Earth before, and I was wearing these clothes. Everyone stared at me," he said, offering his knowledge. "If I were you, I would put on your Earth clothes. You know, those _jeams_ or whatever that you were wearing?"

"They're _jeans_," Lina corrected. "And they are pretty much the only thing I would wear at Hogwarts, unless I was planning on going for a walk with Remus. Then I'd wear something nicer, like a skirt."

Legolas sat down on her bed and said, "Now, who is this Remus you keep referring to?"

Lina sighed and replied, "Oh, he's only the sweetest, nicest, most romantic guy in the world. And the most good-looking too." Legolas looked a little offended, and she realized that most Elven girls her age probably fell for him the second they lay eyes on him. Well, unfortunately for Legolas, she already had her eyes on someone else.

"The worst of it is that when I left, I offered no explanation as to why I was leaving. I had not told him about how Dumbledore was my adoptive father, and how I was really an elf from Middle Earth. He probably wouldn't have believed me anyways; maybe he would have thought it was an excuse for me to break up with him without having to actually say the words 'I don't love you anymore.' "

"Why would he think that?" Legolas asked, curiosity behind his eyes.

"Well, because I basically told him that I was leaving, and possibly never coming back," she said. But then a horrible wave of cold flooded over her as realization sunk in.

"What if he doesn't want me back?" she whispered, dropping her clothes that she was carrying on the floor. "What if he found another girl that he likes better? What if he hasn't written to me because he's forgotten about me? What if –"

"_Ithilwen!_" Legolas shouted, bringing her back to reality. He gripped her shoulders and shook them gently to impress upon her the seriousness of what he was saying. "Ithilwen, he could not forget you. He would not forget you. If you remember him as vividly as you say you do, he is remembering you about twenty times more than that. No one could forget – let alone, not love – a face as beautiful as this."

Lina blushed at the compliment and bent over to pick up the clothes she had dropped. "You're right. He wouldn't forget me, what with all the things we did . . ."

Legolas' eyes suddenly snapped to hers. "What exactly _did_ you do?" he asked, alarmed.

Lina's mouth dropped open at the comment and she cried, "Oh, don't think like that!"

"I'm sorry," Legolas said, withdrawing back to the bed. "That was out of line.

"_Namárië_, Ithilwen. _Calor anor na ven_," Lord Elrond said the next day, as the stars still shone down on the road before her. Legolas, his quiver of arrows filled and his bow at the ready, stood behind her.

"Goodbye, Lina. May the stars shine on your path," she repeated, in English. In Elvish, this time, she said to him, "_Rim hennaid_."

"You are very welcome, Ithilwen. I am sorry it took so long for me to realize what was going on," he said in response to her. "Legolas will keep your company. Until we meet again, _if_ we meet again, farewell."

"Farewell," she whispered. She turned to Legolas, but he was already half way down the dark path. She ran after him, her feet tapping lightly on the ground beneath them.

"About how long will it take to get to this . . . portal?" she asked, panting.

"A day or so. We will be going over some mountains – that's why I suggested you wear your _jeans_," he said, annunciating the last word.

Lina laughed and said, "You said it right!"

He smiled, despite the fact that he was trying to conceal his excitement. "I am a fast learner," he said.

They had climbed over mountains. Of course, although Legolas had warned her of a difficult journey, she had worn her favorite jeans, which now had a few holes – one in each knee, and a couple tears from when they got caught on thorns or the edges of rocks. So much for looking presentable when she reached Remus.

She cried out in pain as one of the rocks scratched her leg.

"Are you alright?" Legolas called down from her from the top of the ledge. He offered his hand to help her up over the top.

"Yes, I'm fine. Even though it still hurts, I think I've been building up immunity to these cuts," Lina said, half-lying. It still hurt like the scars across her chest had when they had first appeared there, a little over thirty years ago, but they were better than they had been before.

"Well, don't worry. In a few seconds, you will be back home, with your Remus to tend to your wounds and heal them all with his kiss," Legolas announced proudly.

Lina was taken aback. "What d'you mean? Are we here already?"

"What do you mean by 'already'? We've been traveling for nearly twelve hours."

"Twelve hours . . ." she murmured. "And here it is?"

"Just beyond this grove of trees."

Lina walked slowly over to the grove and worked her way through. Once she got to the middle, she held her breath, waiting to see this mysterious portal. She expected a swirling hole in the ground through which you could see the grass of England, but instead, she found nothing.

"Where is it?" she asked frantically. "It can't have disappeared!"

"Do not worry, Ithilwen. It did not disappear. It's in that tree," Legolas laughed.

"In the tree?" Lina mused. She remembered going through Platform nine and three-quarters a few times, and she figured it must be something like that. She summoned all of her strength and walked straight towards the tree –

And bumped into it, her head crashing against the wood.

Legolas gasped and cried, "Not that tree, the one next to it!"

Lina rubbed her head and looked at him. "Thanks for the warning," she mumbled. But then her voice softened as she said, "And _hannon le_, Legolas, for bringing me here. You have no idea how much this means to me."

He smiled at her warmly and responded, "_Ná Elbereth veria le, ná elenath dín síla erin rád o chuil lín._"

"May Elbereth protect you, and may her stars shine on the path of your life, as well," Lina said. He took her hand and kissed it gently.

She gave him one last look before stepping gingerly towards the tree. She began to take it at a run, more like a sprint. Perhaps she was anxious to see Remus. She figured it was more because she was afraid to bump into another tree and she wanted to get it over with. She braced herself for the pain . . .

But it never came.

She opened her eyes. She was somewhere familiar, but she could not place it in her mind. It was a sort of shack, with almost no light shining through the broken shutters that covered the windows. The curtains and bed linens were moth-eaten and dusty. She looked on the floor, however, and saw that there were paw prints on the dusty floor.

She was in the Shrieking Shack.

Her heart pounding in her chest, she traveled down the path she knew so well to her true home, where she hoped Remus might be awaiting her. But what was she talking about? There was no way Remus would still be in school after thirty years.

But perhaps her father would be.

She crawled through the twisted passages at more of a run than a walking pace. She had even missed this horrible place. It held a memory of Remus, awakening something within her that jolted in her heart and only made her run faster.

Finally, she could breathe. She was out of the Shrieking Shack.

She ran towards the castle, which was beautifully illuminated with candles and torches flickering in the night. She looked to the lake and saw all the first-years, arriving on their boats. Carriages poured into the castle. She had never ridden in one of those carriages, but she was just happy enough right now to be glad she had actually had that excited, nervous feeling in her gut that all those people that were riding in the carriages had.

Her heart completely stopped in her chest as she did a quick math calculation in her mind. She realized that Lily and James' son Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was riding in one of those carriages, awaiting the beginning of his seventh year.


	22. Recognition, Or Not?

**Disclaimer: **Read my pf thingy.

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long – I was in a slump for the LONGEST time. Especially sorry to Gabby, my loving supporter – I LOVE YOU HUN! Thanks for always reading! And of course, love to you too, Cait, for being my unofficial editor. :-)

**_Twenty-Two_**

As the doors to the castle opened, she jogged alongside the carriages. A group of four was seated in the carriage she as running beside – a boy with red hair, a girl with the same color hair whom she assumed was the boy's sister, a girl with curly brown hair, and a boy with dark hair and glasses. Her vision of them was blurred through the glass, but she was certainly getting tired from running. She jumped up on the side of the cart and knocked on the window. The boy with dark hair opened the door for her.

"Erm, what are you doing?" he asked.

"I, uh, missed my carriage," Lina lied hastily. She thanked God for still looking like she was seventeen.

"Well, you want to jump in?" he questioned, still staring at her in wonder.

"Thank you!" she cried, jumping into the carriage.

The red-haired boy and the curly-haired girl were sitting next to each other, and opposite them were the boy who let her in and the red-haired girl. She squished herself in between these two and smiled, looking around.

"Well, who are all you?" she asked brightly. Her expression completely contradicted her current mood.

"I'm Hermione Granger," said the curly haired girl. Pointing to the red-haired girl, she said, "This is Ginny Weasley, this is Ron Weasley (her brother), and that's –"

"I'm perfectly capable of introducing myself, Hermione," the dark-haired boy said. Now that Lina was up close, she noticed a lightning-bolt shaped scar beneath his forehead. "I'm Harry Potter," he said.

Lina gasped. "You're . . . you can't be . . ."

"Yes, he's Harry Potter, is that a problem?" Ron snapped.

"You're Lily and James' son!" she cried.

"Yes . . ." Harry said, trailing off.

Lina felt like fainting, but she figured that it probably wouldn't exactly be a good idea. She held her breath and froze her chest. She looked for something in her pocket to play with – anything that would distract her.

"You look like you've been through a rough journey," Hermione mused. "Where are your robes?"

"My robes?" Lina asked hesitantly, stalling for time.

"Yeah. You're wearing some jeans and a shirt – that's against dress code."

"Oh. Well. About that . . ."

Lina was thankful as the carriage jerked to a stop in front of the school, so she was saved the terrifying idea of weaving another web of lies. Coming to Hogwarts in the first place was proving to be a lot more difficult than she had imagined. Now, not only was she an elf, but she was also emerging from the Forbidden Forest wearing street clothes and jumping on to the side of random students' carriages. She jumped hastily out of the carriage, anxious to get away from the uncomfortable situation.

"Well, um, thanks for the ride and all, everyone, but I kind of have to be somewhere. It was nice meeting you. I'll see you later," she said, as though the entire speech were one sentence.

Harry, the one person she needed to get on her side the most, was the one who was giving her the most quizzical look. "Yeah, I guess so . . ."

"Bye!" called Ginny as Lina jogged away from them as fast as possible. But suddenly, just as they were leaving, a thought occurred to her.

"Wait!" she shouted, catching their attention immediately. "Does Remus Lupin work here?"

"Yeah, he is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He was in our third year, too, but he resigned after a small . . . er, mishap," Ron explained. "Why do you need to know?"

"Because. Where is his office?" she asked hastily.

"Just ask one of the paintings," Hermione said irritably. "Now if you don't mind, we sort of have to get to the Great Hall for dinner. Aren't you coming?"

"Uh, I'll be there in a second. You guys can, erm, go ahead."

Hermione breathed a sigh and grabbed Ron by the arm, dragging her along behind him while he stared at Lina. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of a stare it was – curious, mean, questioning, intriguing, or affectionate – but at the same time she couldn't help but feel that Hermione wasn't happy about it. And she also couldn't help but think that he was looking at her in more than one way.

Lina shook off her thoughts, however, and began looking for "Professor" Lupin's office. There were probably millions of portraits in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but Lina knew just the one to ask.

A few minutes later, she arrived in front of a small canvas painting of a pretty young girl dressed in a frilly pink dress.

"Rosalie?" she questioned quietly.

"Is that you, Lina dear?" the girl asked, a small spark lighting up in her oil-painted eyes for a moment. But the spark was extinguished as she said, "But it cannot be you. You left many, many years ago. Anyway, what is the trouble?"

"I am looking for Professor Lupin's room. Do you know where it is?"

"Why yes, of course."

"Oh, Merlin, thank you! Can you give me directions?"

"Yes, dear. Certainly."

After a quick synopsis of directions to Remus' room, Lina was back on her way. Even though she knew she should be happy, she was not. She was now more afraid than ever.

Rosalie had been her friend through many hard years of crying and tears while she was locked up in her room, awaiting the day when she would be allowed to join the rest of the world in her magical education. She knew almost everything that had ever happened to her. Rosalie was the guardian of her room since the day it was given to her when she was dating John. Rosalie had always asked her how she kept looking so young, and Lina had always had to reply quickly about how she used some magical cream. Rosalie was, as sad as it seemed, one of her best friends, and had been for a long time.

If Rosalie did not recognize her, then how could she expect Remus to?

Something inside of her wanted her to pull away, to leave and never come back. She wanted to save herself the pain. She wanted to save herself the tears and him the embarrassment of having to turn her down. But another part of her, at the same time, told her to stay, because although it was highly improbable that he would remember her, let alone recognize her as his Lina, there was still a small sliver of hope.

Within moments, she found herself standing in front of his door. She didn't remember how she got there, but there she was.

She was about to reach for the doorknob when she stopped herself. Was she crazy? Meeting her boyfriend for the first time in twenty-five years wearing ripped, grass-stained jeans?

She quickly ran into the bathroom and changed, and once again, found herself in front of Remus' door.

And this time there was no turning back.

Celina took a deep breath. It had been twenty-five years since she had seen Remus, and she was more ready than ever to see him. She missed him so much – but when she thought about it, she knew things would be different. He had aged twenty-five years years. He was now forty-two years old, and she still looked seventeen. He was probably a little grey, a lot older, a lot more mature. What if he didn't like her anymore? But she knew she had to. She couldn't sacrifice love because she was afraid.

She knocked on the door.

"Come in," said a deep voice. It was a bit older, but she recognized it quite well. She sighed and, reaching for the doorknob, wrenched it open.


	23. More than a Reunion

**Disclaimer:** Read my pf thingy.

_**Twenty-Three**_

"Remus," she said quietly. He was shuffling through some papers on a desk, looking through his briefcase.

"Remus, look at me," she said. He turned and looked at her, and let out a gasp.

"Are you – is your surname Peterson?" he asked.

"Yes, yes it is!" Lina cried. "You remember me!"

Remus frowned. "How can I remember you if I've never met you before?" he asked.

"What are you talking about? It's me, Remus, it's Celina!"

"No you're not! You're her kid! Lina's my age! She's your mother!" he said sharply.

"_Yes I am!_ Don't you think I'd know who I am? I am Celina Artemis Peterson!"

"Dammit, no you're not! You're her kid! Jesus Christ, if you're Lina you will have had to have a hell of a good face lift," he said.

"Fine then! Ask me something that only Lina would know! And I promise you, I will answer correctly!"

Remus thought for a minute, his hand on his chin, then said, "Alright, then, what happened on the night of December the fifteenth, in the year of 1980?"

Lina closed her eyes. She searched her memory, but did not have to look very far. Instantaneously, she felt a stabbing pain across her chest. She half expected blood to come spurting out from the scars. She still remembered a hand stroking her face, but then jerking back . . . a voice whispering, "Look what you've done . . . You're a monster."

"On December the fifteenth in the year 1980, you changed into a werewolf, and scratched me across the chest. And I heard voices screaming, calling out for help. And a pain in my chest like my very heart was being ripped apart. And then I awoke to a voice, muttering about monsters and terrible things." Lina said descriptively. She put her hand over her heart, where the paw print lay under her shirt. The pain was still there, like knives piercing into her.

Remus sighed and replied with, "Your mother told you."

Lina was enraged. She shouted, "If my mother told me, then what are these?" She lowered the neckline on her shirt, revealing a small part of the scratch, red with the memory. She heard his sharp intake of breath, heard his footsteps as he walked over to her. He gently reached out and touched the end of the scratch. In touching it, she flinched.

He looked deeply into her eyes. They were pleading, begging for him to believe her. He saw himself reflected in her tears.

"Please, Remus, trust me. Why would I make this up?"

He put his hands to her face, wiping away the tears. He stroked her skin gently, like he had so many times before. She realized how much she had missed that.

She smiled. "Besides, I could never have a kid with anyone but you," she whispered.

"It is you," he whispered. She looked to the ground and nodded.

That was all it took. With one finger, he lifted her chin and drew her closer to him. And gently, so gently, sank his lips into hers. He put his hands on her back, pressing her body to his. It was the first kiss she had encountered in thirty years. And it was the best kiss she had ever encountered, in four-thousand, three hundred and forty-three years.

He withdrew from her, that old sparkle back in his eyes. "How can you still look so young? It's impossible."

"It's not impossible, just improbable," Lina replied slyly. Remus raised his eyebrows. Lina smiled and said, "Do you remember the first time you kissed me?"

"How could I forget?" he replied.

"Do you remember what I told you before you actually kissed me?"

He grinned and in unison, they said, "Don't touch the hair."

"I never understood that," Remus said honestly. "You have such beautiful hair – the way it captures the sunlight and looks so radiant, the unbelievable highlights, the softness, the volume, just . . . everything about it is beautiful."

"Well, do you want to know why I didn't want you to touch the hair?" Lina asked. Remus nodded. She took a deep breath and slowly pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Your ear! It's . . . it's pointy!" Remus exclaimed.

"Don't you think I know that? I've been living with it for four-thousand, three hundred and thirty-eight years!"

"Four thousand . . . what?" he asked.

"Remus, do you know what an elf is?" she asked. Remus shook his head. "An elf is a creature that lives in a world far from here. In another universe, sort of. And elves are immortal."

"Immortal?" Remus asked.

"Yes, immortal. I can never die. And the thing is I am, or was, an orphan, until Professor Dumbledore adopted me, a hundred fifty or so years ago."

"Celina . . . Dumbledore . . ." he murmured.

"Yes. And so I lived with him for a hundred twenty years, and then I came to Hogwarts. Where I met you. And Sirius. And Pettigrew. And . . . James and Lily," Lina said, ending that last part in a whisper. Her lower lip quivered, and she collapsed onto Remus in a fit of tears.

"Oh, Remus, why did they have to die? What did he want in them? Why couldn't he have taken me instead?"

"Because, Celina. If he had taken you, then Harry wouldn't have stood up to Voldemort. And then there would be no boy who lived. And besides, if you had died, I would have died, as well. Because I cannot live without you, Lina."

Lina blushed. Even when they had been going out when they were younger, he had never said anything like that to her before. But then, a question arose in her head, growing louder and louder.

"If you cannot live without me, then how come you are still alive now?" she asked bluntly.

"Because I was living with the hope that you would come back to me, like you promised, Lina. Don't you remember what you said to me before you left?" Remus said in barely more than a whisper.

Lina remembered, perfectly. She closed her eyes and recited the words she had said years and years ago:

"I'm not sure of where I'm going, Remus, or what I plan to do there. In fact, there's only one thing I am sure of, and that's that I'm not sure of anything. This life is taking me on a different path than I would have chosen, but right now, I need to leave you.

"But I promise to you, Remus – I swear on my life – that one day, I will come back for you. I may not look the same, and you certainly won't look the same, but I will be the same person inside, with the same immortal flame burning within me."

She opened her eyes. Remus was smiling at her. She smiled back as he took her hand, gently and slowly intertwining their fingers.

"When you had said that to me, I hadn't known that you meant _immortal flame_ literally," he said.

"I hadn't meant it that way, but that's alright."

And again, he kissed her. She had never felt such strong love. She had never felt so warm, despite the cold air within the castle. She had never felt so protected, despite the mountain trolls looking for her. And she had never felt so beautiful than she did with him.

They withdrew from each other. Remus touched his lips gently.

"I forgot how much I missed that," he whispered. Lina laughed softly.

Without another word, Remus took her hand and lead her up a small, stone staircase that lead to a bedroom. The windows were stained glass and were closed, but other than that, there was little color in the room. Lina was a bit disappointed – she had imagined a more glorious retreat.

However, Remus continued to lead her, over to the window. He gently touched it and murmured, "Celina," and it opened.

"You used me as a password?" Lina asked, grinning.

"This room is just for you. What better password was there than your name?" he asked. Lina frowned, puzzled. "You'll see what I mean in a moment," he continued.

Lina followed him down a small corridor lit by candles set into the walls. At the end of the corridor was a door. When they reached it, Remus beamed.

"Close your eyes," he commanded tenderly. She did as she was told, and felt herself being pulled into a different room. This one was much warmer than the chamber and the bedroom.

"Alright, open them."

Lina opened her eyes and gasped. She was in a room with a dark, wooden floor and stone walls. In the center of the room was a circular bed, with pink, red, and gold comforters. The pillows were a shade of dark purple. Tall, black, metallic candle holders stood from the floor, and fifty or so smaller candles were arranged around the circular canopy bed. A large fire crackled cheerfully in the fireplace, and there were more stained glass windows. The image on the windows was of a rose, red in color. On the floor were scattered many rose petals, in shades of pink, red, and white.

"I imagine this is a much better retreat than the previous room?" Remus asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"It's beautiful . . . and so romantic." Lina ran and threw herself on the bed. It was so comfortable – she sank easily into the mattress.

"I decorated this room magically for when you returned. No one has ever found it besides me, seeing as I set the password. This is the first time I have been in here in four years, but I put a self-cleaning charm on it, so that every day, it would automatically clean itself. Should I assume it is to your satisfaction?" Remus asked.

"It is completely, one-hundred percent to my satisfaction. In fact, I only hoped for a positive reaction from you – this is like a bonus."

Lina instantly began making herself at home. She threw off her robes, flinging them on a nearby armchair. She was wearing a black cami with lace across the top. Her skirt was denim and reached a little bit above her knees.

"I'm surprised to say . . . I like these current styles!" he muttered. He walked over to her, her eyes following his large, graceful movements. He sat down on the bed next to her and looked her up and down. She felt herself blushing again. She was just thinking that she blushed too much when he kissed her again.

This time, the kiss was more of a sexy kiss than a romantic kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, he wrapping his around her waist. His hands found her leg, and slowly stroked it up and down. His other hand, however, found the straps of her shirt, and slid them off her shoulders.

His kisses moved to her neck. She giggled at his playfulness, his fingers tracing her outline. Her eyes closed . . .

When it was over, she had laid her head on his bare chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was fast, like a jackrabbit. She had fallen asleep there, around three o'clock, her clothes strewn on the floor. One of his arms was around her waist, the other holding her hand. One of her hands was on is chest, the other being held. It had been the best night of her life. She had imagined it so many times, the kiss, the initial movement of him going to take off her shirt, his touch on her leg.

She awoke in the bed, feeling incredibly warm. At first, she was alarmed – what would her father think? What happened last night? Why was she here? But then she remembered everything. And she remembered that no one could get into the room without the password.

At the present moment, she wished she could fall asleep just so that she could wake in his arms again. But she knew that her heart was racing so hard that she could not fall asleep if she tried.

She relaxed a bit and gently kissed Remus' head.

He stirred. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was her smiling face.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"More like great morning," she stated. He smiled. She rose and put on her nightgown, allowing him to stretch.

"Jesus, looking at you, then looking at me – I feel so old," Remus said forlornly.

"Well, don't – remember, I am about four thousand, three hundred or so years older than you. A little less than that," she said. "So you shut up about being old."

"Ah, sorry. It's still a fairly new concept."

Lina exited the room and went to Remus' office. She was surprised to see that her stuff was in there, in a large wardrobe, next to Remus'. Then, it hit her – the house elves must have brought it here.

But then, she began to panic. Would they tell Dumbledore? Or did he already know? Or would they let it slip that she was going out and had sex with a teacher? What would happen to her?

"Calm down, Lina," Remus whispered. "None of the house elves have anything against you. They can't do anything. It's not their place to tell, or to learn this kind of information, for that matter."

"What?" Lina asked upon hearing his comment.

"You sent your thought to me. I assume that this was by accident?"

"Your assumption would be correct. I forgot I could do that," she said in response.

So she just decided to get into some kind of pajamas more than just her nightgown, so that if she were to go wandering the school, it would look like she had been sleepwalking. She put on a fluffy white bathrobe, but left it untied to that her lingerie-like nightgown still showed.

He was in his boxers, apparently brushing his teeth. When he saw her, he gasped and almost dropped the toothbrush.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked through a mouthful of toothpaste.

"The house-elves brought my stuff up here. They must have known I was here. I have to go back to my room that Daddy gave me, so that he won't know what happened."

"D . . . Daddy?" Remus asked slowly. Then, his eyes widened in awe and fear.

"Shit. I will be in _so_ much trouble if your Dad finds out what happened last night . . . and so will you," he said quietly, as though thinking that his spies were in the room right in that moment.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just let me sneak back to my room, and everything will be fine," Lina said. She gave Remus a quick kiss on the cheek and then walked back to the door to Remus' office.

When she got there, she noticed that there was no fire. She pulled out her wand and muttered, _"Ignitius!"_ Instantly, a crackling fire appeared in the fireplace. She thought it would be nice for him to enter his office and find it nice and warm, rather than cold as ice.

Smiling to herself, she walked over to the door to the office. She turned the doorknob and opened the door. However, when she looked up, she almost fainted.

"Hey, Daddy," she said uneasily, as Professor Dumbledore looked at her in her lingerie-like nightgown, standing at the door to Remus' office.


End file.
